We may earn a commission when you click on the affiliate links in this post.
Homemade Caramels made with just 4 ingredients! Buttery, rich, and melt-in-your-mouth perfect every time. A true, classic family favorite!
5-Star Reader Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“This is my go-to caramel recipe for the holidays and people always rave about it!” – Kendall
“I just made these and they are amazing! So simple and yummy! I added chopped pecans in mine and my husband says they taste just like what his grandma made when he was young…” – AlaskaChick
Traditional Christmas Caramels
I’ve made these homemade caramels so many times I could do it in my sleep, and after you make them once, you probably could too! My mom always said, “It’s just two of everything,”, two sticks of butter, two cups of cream, two cups of sugar, and two cups of light corn syrup. That’s it! These rich, buttery caramels are melt-in-your-mouth delicious and turn out perfectly every. single. time. They’re a classic treat, great for gifting, snacking, or turning into all kinds of sweet candies like salted caramels (see below) or dipped caramel pretzel bites.
If you love caramel as much as we do, you will definitely want to try some of our other caramel favorites like our salted caramel sauce, caramel apple dip, or caramel popcorn! I can’t wait for you to try them all!
🩷Emily
Table of Contents
- 5-Star Reader Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Traditional Christmas Caramels
- Ingredients in Homemade Caramels
- How to Make Homemade Caramels
- Homemade Caramels Without A Candy Thermometer
- Make Salted Caramels
- How to Wrap Caramels
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Christmas Treat Recipes
- Mom’s Homemade Caramels Recipe
- More Christmas Recipes
Ingredients in Homemade Caramels
- Butter – I always use salted butter to cut the sweetness of the caramels just a little bit. Make sure you don’t use margarine. It won’t set up the same.
- Whipping cream – Soft and chewy comes straight from the whipping cream. This helps give it the creamy texture.
- Sugar – You will want white granulated sugar, not brown sugar. The caramel coloring is from the butter and Karo syrup combination. The sugar adds the perfect sweetness to the homemade caramels.
- Light corn syrup – We always use “karo” syrup to add thickness, sweetness, and silkiness to the easy caramels.
How to Make Homemade Caramels
- Generously butter a large baking sheet and set it aside. In a heavy saucepan, combine the butter, cream, sugar, and corn syrup.
- Over medium heat, stirring continuously, bring to a boil and continue boiling and stirring until the candy thermometer reaches 240 degrees F.
- Pour the caramel onto the prepared pan to cool completely.
- Cut into bite-sized pieces and wrap in wax paper.
Homemade Caramels Without A Candy Thermometer
I recommend using a candy thermometer for this recipe, but if you don’t have a candy thermometer or are just old-school, you can always do the “softball stage test” or the “cold water test”.
Using a clean spoon, carefully take a little of the cooked caramel from the saucepan and drop it into the bowl of very cold water. Reach into the bowl with your hands and see if the caramel can be molded into a softball. If it’s pliable and soft, the caramel has reached the softball stage (234-240 degrees F).
Make Salted Caramels
If you are wanting to take the traditional homemade recipe just one step further, try stirring a splash of vanilla extract in with the caramel before pouring it into the baking dish. Then, sprinkle some pink Hawaiian sea salt or coarse Kosher salt over the top after you have poured it into the pan and it has cooled for about 15 minutes. That way, the salt will stick to the top and not get absorbed into the caramel. SO GOOD.
How to Wrap Caramels
The easiest way to wrap homemade caramel candy is to wait until they are mostly cooled in the baking dish before cutting them into pieces. I have found that they are easiest to wrap when they have reached room temperature.
Cut the caramels with a sharp knife (or scissors) into approximately 1″ x 1 1/2″ pieces and wrap them in wax or parchment paper approximately 3″x3″. Wrapping them diagonally to get full coverage, and then twisting the ends to seal them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your caramels didn’t get up to the correct temperature. It needs to be 240 degrees Fahrenheit before removing it from the pan. You can place the caramel back in the pan and re-heat it to bring it up to temperature if needed.
Yes! These homemade caramels can be enjoyed by those with gluten allergies or requiring a gluten-free diet.
No, they can cool to room temperature and remain at room temperature after being cut and wrapped.
Up to three weeks at room temperature. Just keep it in an airtight container to keep moisture out.
Yes! After wrapping the caramels individually (so they don’t stick together) place them in a Freezer zip-top bag and freeze for up to 6 months. To thaw, just place at room temperature for a few minutes until soft and ready to eat.
READ MORE: 25+ Christmas Dessert Ideas
Christmas Treat Recipes
We LOVE all the candy recipes around Christmastime, especially our unique recipes like our Christmas Charcuterie or our Chocolate Orange Cookies. Here are more of our favorites:
If these caramels bring back sweet memories (or make new ones!), let me know in the comments below. Don’t forget to leave a star rating! I love hearing how our family recipes turn out in your kitchen! 💬⭐️
Mom’s Homemade Caramels
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, (2 sticks)
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups light corn syrup
Instructions
- Grease a large cookie sheet with butter and set aside. Combine all ingredients in a large pan.
- Over medium heat, stirring continuously, bring to a boil and continue boiling and stirring until the candy thermometer reaches 240 degrees.
- Pour into a large, greased cookie sheet and cool.
- Once cooled, cut into bite-size squares and wrap in wax paper.
Notes
Tips on Making Homemade Caramels
- We recommend using a candy thermometer for this recipe, but if you don’t have a candy thermometer or are just old-school, you can always do the “soft ball stage test” or the “cold water test”. Using a clean spoon, carefully take a little of the cooked caramel from the saucepan and drop it into the bowl of very cold water. Reach into the bowl with your hands and see if the caramel can be molded into a soft ball. If it’s pliable and soft, the caramel has reached the softball stage (234 – 240 degrees F).
- USE MEDIUM HEAT STIRRING CONTINUOUSLY. If you turn the stove top high, it will burn the caramel leaving you with little brown pieces throughout.
- If your caramels are too soft, that means they didn’t get up to the correct temperature. It needs to be 240 degrees F before removing it from the pan. You can place the caramel back in the pan and re-heat it to bring it up to temperature if needed.
- For salted caramels, try stirring a splash of vanilla extract in with the caramel before pouring it into the baking dish. Then, sprinkle some pink Hawaiian sea salt or coarse Kosher salt over the top after you have poured it into the pan and it has cooled for about 15 minutes. That way the salt will stick to the top and not get absorbed into the caramel.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this recipe?
We want to hear from you! Please leave a review.
Use a wooden spoon, melted a nylonish one. I’m a newby first time trying candy. Tastes great even with the spoon bits.
By the way, 5 STARS on this recipe!
This is a fantastic recipe! Simple, easy, and by far, the BEST SOFT CARAMEL recipe I’ve ever used, and, I have used a lot of them over the last 45 years. I’m so glad I decided to take another look online for a light colored soft caramel recipe. Your mother’s recipe stood out among the results. May I say, in this soft caramel afficianoda’s opinion, her recipe is THE TOPS! Thank you so much for sharing it. I’ve already passed the link to my daughter, who will be trying the recipe soon. I definitely will be using this recipe again and again.
So yummy!
This is my go-to caramel recipe for the holidays and people always rave about it!
Can you tell me what size cookie sheet to use? would parchment paper work?
The article stresses how easy it is to remember the ingredient amounts – two of everything. Then I look at the actual recipe and it indicates only one cup of butter. Hmmmm. Not sure what to do about that.
2 sticks of butter = 1 cup of butter. The 2 comes from 2 sticks of butter. Hope this helps!
2 sticks of butter!
When they are at room temperature are they a soft chew consistency or hard consistency?
Thanks.
Soft and chewy!
We love caramels in this house! So delicious and yummy! Can’t wait to make these for the holiday!
Caramels are the best! These look super yummy and easy…can’t wait to try them.
My favorite Christmas treat! Great recipe!
As I’m British how much is a cup of liquid and a stick if butter? Thanks
A stick of butter is about 113 grams and a cup of liquid is about 1/4 of a liter. Hope this helps!
Can this caramel recipe be used for caramel apples?
No, this recipe has a much different consistency than what you would want for caramel apples.
Hi there!
Can I use brown sugar or does it have to be white?
We’ve never tried it with brown sugar. I would be hesitant to try it.
I just made these and they are amazing! So simple and yummy! I added chopped pecans in mine and my husband says they taste just like what his grandma made when he was young. To cut them I used my metal pizza cutter and it worked perfect. I will definitely make these again.
So glad you enjoyed them!! Thanks for the 5-star rating!
A pizza cutter is genius! Thanks for sharing!
I make my own Canna butter and these make a great favorite of some of my friends who do edibles.good for people going through cancer treatments
I can’t seem to get a hold of the corn syrup is there anything else I can use as a substitute?
I haven’t tried any substitutes for corn syrup in this recipe, so I can’t speak for how it would affect the taste or texture. I usually find corn syrup in the cereal aisle by the maple syrup. Hope this helps!
Thank you. I can’t find it anywhere here in the UK and recently found out it was banned in the uk. I have used golden syrup instead an omg the results are amazing these caramels are so tasty. All of my mum’s and my work friends have basically put in orders for them.
I added about a teaspoon of salt and HOLY CRAP, THEY’RE AMAZING. In the future, I’d probably use a bigger pot, but otherwise it was so easy!
Also, the total time is DEFINITELY not 5 minutes. It took me about an hour to cook the caramel. Luckily I didn’t have anywhere to be!
Mariah– that is so funny that you say that you added salt. This year was the first time I added some course sea salt to the top of the caramels and it was like caramels 2.0! I will be adding the idea to the recipe because it turned out SO stinkin’ good!
Also, I didn’t realize the total time was only at 5 minutes.. good catch. I will try to get that fixed too.
No vanilla added ? also I see you used 2 cups white sugar I presume, can you use 1/2 white and 1/2 brown? Also would this be ok as the carmel base for turtles?
No vanilla is right, but it would be fine if added. We haven’t used half brown sugar before because we love this recipe as-it. If you try it, let us know how it turns out! Yes, This would be perfect for turtles 🙂
I make caramels with a very similar recipe every year. My family love to get these as gifts at Christmas. I find them easier to cut if I turn them out onto a large cutting board. I line the pan with foil or parchment to make if easier to lift them out if the pan. A favourite treat at Christmas.
Thank you, Shirley! That is a great suggestion!