I love caramel, but not all caramels are created equal. My sister made these for me a few years ago (she makes them for neighbor gifts every year) and I about died. Seriously the best, most buttery caramels I’ve ever eaten in my life. So after a few years of just enjoying her’s I decided to ask for the recipe and make them myself.
I wish a picture really captured how soft and smooth these caramels are. I will say, you HAVE to make sure your candy thermometer is working, that you know how to adjust the temp for your elevation AND that you don’t just use a candy thermometer – do the ice water test as well!
Back in the day before I knew what I was doing I cooked caramel and other candies all the way to 240 at the high elevation in Utah and my batches would come out rock hard, Took me awhile to figure it out! Now I’m a candy making crazy person!
these are soft and sticky so I toss them in the fridge for 30 mins or freezer for 10 to harden them up so they are less messy to cut. I switched to the water bottle trays after my sister recommended them – SO EASY! Just make sure you spray them well – the first time I went to light and they were a pain to get out. Or if you use a pan then use very sharp knife and coat it with baking spray, then cut them into long caramel tubes and wrap them in wax paper!
homemade buttery caramels
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 C butter
- 1 1/2 lbs packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 C light corn syrup
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- In a large saucepan dissolve the brown sugar and salt in the butter over medium heat.
- Add the Karo syrup and mix
- Pour the sweetened condensed milk in and stir.
- Boil the mixture over medium heat until it hits 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer (remember candy temperatures are listed as sea level degree's so adjust according to your altitude - for example I lower all temperatures by 20 degrees F because I live so high up)
- Add the vanilla and stir
- Pour into a prepared large jelly roll pan (sprayed with baking spray) and let it set
- Cut with a knife also sprayed with baking spray
Video
Nutrition
What’s your favorite Christmas treats or goodies to make every year? One of my favorites for neighbor gifts is caramel popcorn balls! Everyone loves them and they are super easy to make!
Neighbor gifts and goodie plate recipes
- Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie - February 3, 2020
- Instant Pot Parmesan Risotto Recipe - February 1, 2020
- Baked Lemon Salmon Recipe Video - January 31, 2020
Karleen
Just found this helpful site filled with wonderful stuff! Making fleece hats and now onto caramels! Yum an all around great day! Thanks!
Ashlee
thank you so much! glad to have you!
Jill W
Guess what…rock hard caramels are actually yummy! They just last longer. They could be made into caramel suckers, too! Maybe put them in a cute silicone mold and tie with a cute ribbon for a homemade stocking stuffer. 🙂
Ashlee
bwah hahaha, I had so much left when I got home I’m still sucking on them for a sweet treat!
Emma
I love Carmel’s. My favorite candy and yours looks so delicious
Ashlee
Thank you so much! My husband doesn’t love caramels, but I adore them!
Margrethe
Hi from Oslo, Norway
Ashlee
hello, welcome!
Nate
Wanted to try a new caramels recipe, make them all the time and was excited to try this one with sweetened condensed milk since have never put it in before. But your recipe is listed wrong. You write 1 1/2 cups of butter – that is three whole sticks. I usually use 1 stick – 1 1/2 sticks so thought that was quite a lot and just went with 2 1/2 sticks instead to give it a try. In the picture you have 1 1/2 sticks. You also have have 1 1/2 lbs of brown sugar – it is 1 1/2 cups, correct? That’s what I used. In the end, they came out very bad – way too much butter haha. I’m sure they are good if the correct recipe was followed. Will try again with correct measurements probably.
Ashlee
actually my recipe isn’t listed wrong. the picture shows 3 cubes (we have cubes in the west coast they are the same amount of butter but different shape than the sticks in the east coast) and it’s 1 1/2 POUNDS of brown sugar not cups. if you try it again following the recipe let me know what you think.
Courtney
Best. Caramel. Ever. !!!!! I just made these today, and they are incredible! Thank u so much!!
Ashlee
YAY! so glad you enjoyed the recipe!!!
Jenn
I was curious if instead of using Vanilla extract, if rum extract could be used instead, to make butter rum flavor?
Ashlee
go for it! I’d probably still use a little vanilla a it’s a flavor enhancer – in addition to the rum extract
Brie
Trying this now. I am excited
Ashlee
I hope it turned out amazing~!
Genevieve
Nice caramels! I’m a beginner at making caramels and this is a great recipe for me because it’s so easy!
Ashlee
I’m so glad you like it!
Ty
Howdy!
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe, my first batch was on new year’s day and just poured my second this evening.
Wonderful caramels! These are “make you some friends” caramels!
I have never had so many happily swear-word-ladden compliments as I have with co-workers through a mouthful of one of these 🙂
I intend to use this recipe in homemade candy bars once I get the hang on tempering chocolate.
Thank you Ashlee, I’m a new a fan!
Ashlee
so glad you love it! I personally love the soft caramel so much! this would be PERFECT in candy bars – let me know how it goes!
Chris Keinz
Thank you for the wonderful caramel recipe me and my wife infused the butter with marijuana it was very tasty all our friends loved it thank you so much and we also made your homemade peanut butter cups with infused butter containing marijuana
Bethany
I managed to make this recipe yesterday and it turned out better than expected! (I have made caramel before but I’ve set fires while making it…) This recipe was easy to follow and the texture was about what I expected, HOWEVER, I do have a question. My final product was a bit gritty. I wondered if I made a mistake and didn’t dissolve the brown sugar in the butter long enough. Other than that, this is going to be my go-to caramel recipe for the fall and winter holidays!! Thanks for sharing!! -B
Ashlee
with candy making it can be so many things, scrapping the sides can deposit sugar crystals back into the caramel and start a chain reaction of crystallization, so keep the sides clean by brushing the sides with a wet pastry brush. under cooking or over cooking can cause it as well. stirring to much can also cause grittiness, you want to stir as little as possible but don’t let it burn, this is one of the times I don’t suggest using a stainless steel pan – it burns if you don’t stir it constantly. Make sure not to skip the corn syrup as it helps prevent crystallization.
Marina Hatton
Hello..would this recipe be ok as a filling for homemade chocolates?
Ashlee
I use it in this chocolate covered caramel marshmallows so yes it works great in chocolate
Kelly
I also made these last Christmas. I made a batch with the vanilla, a batch with rum extract and a batch with coffee extract. Totally delicious!!!
Olive Carsey
Do you think these would freeze for a few weeks without causing them to go bad? I want to include them in my Christmas plates but won’t have time unless I make them asap.
Ashlee Marie
I’ve heard marshmallows can be frozen but I’ve never tried
kristen
This recipe sounds great, can’t wait to try it! Question for you, how far in advance can you make it for neighbor gifts? Not sure of the shelf life for caramels! Love all your stuff, have learned alot from you! Thanks for sharing!!!
Ashlee Marie
the chocolate coating will keep them fairly fresh for a few days
Judy myers
Im looking forward to making these caramels. Can they be frozen until we eat them?
Ashlee Marie
i’ve heard marshmallows can be frozen but I’ve never tried – it will effect the chocolate – cause some spotting
Karin
This would be awesome with my homemade turtles.
Lindsey
These are by far the best, most delicious homemade caramels that I have ever had. I made them for a baby shower and they were a huge hit! There were zero left over and many people asked me for the recipe. I took some to the teachers’ lounge and they were gone by lunch time. Thanks for the recipe.
Lindsey
These are seriously the best caramels ever! Thanks so much for the recipe. I made these for a baby shower and people RAVED over them. They took handfuls home and asked for the recipe. Thanks so much!
Rachel
This is probably a dumb question but I just want to clarify, when you say to boil up to 240 degrees on a candy thermometer, was that the temperature YOU do because of living at a high altitude (so I’d do 260, living in North Dakota), or is that WITHOUT your 20 degree adjustment?
Ashlee Marie
the directions are for sea level! you’ll need to adjust to where you live. So I adjust down to 220.