These Christmas Caramels are definitely my favorite caramel. They make your house smell amazing and they taste like Christmas to our family!
A True Christmas Tradition
We have so many Christmas memories of wrapping these Christmas caramels in wax paper for our neighbors. The house would smell like sweet caramel, the kitchen would be covered in pots and bowls, Christmas music would be playing… and we would be cutting up pieces of wax paper and wrapping these caramels like elves in Santa’s sweet shoppe. Of course when our mom wasn’t looking we would pop one or two (one less to wrap and a quick sweet treat — win-win). We always looked forward to making Christmas caramels each year when we were little, and now our own kids look forward to it too! It is a true family tradition that has made its way through generations.
A Recipe to Learn by Heart
These Christmas Caramels are definitely my favorite when it comes to caramels, nothing else even compares. Plus, they are SO easy. You can even memorize the recipe by heart. It only takes 4 ingredients and 2 of everything (2 sticks, 2 cups…)! It is SO easy to memorize! My mom doesn’t even have this recipe written down – she knows it by heart (we all do) and it is perfect EVERY time. All you have to do is remember:
- 2 sticks of butter
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups Karo (corn) syrup
How To Make Salted Caramels
If you are wanting to take the traditional recipe just one step further, try stirring a splash of vanilla in with the caramel before pouring it into the pan. Then sprinkle some pink Hawaiian sea salt over the top after you have poured it into the pan and it has cooled for about 2 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 caramels is to wait until they are mostly cooled before cutting them into pieces. I have found that they are easiest to wrap when they have reached room temp. Cut the caramels with a sharp knife (or scissors) into approximately 1″ x 1 1/2″ pieces and wrap them in wax paper appx. 3″x3″. Wrapping them diagonally to get full coverage, and then twisting the ends to seal them.
Christmas Candy Recipes
We LOVE all the candy around Christmastime. Here are more of our favorites:
- Traditional Chocolate Covered Cherries
- Ritz Dipped Cookies
- Dipped Caramel Pretzel Bites
- Copycat See’s Fudge
How to Make Homemade Caramels
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter NOT margarine
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups Karo syrup
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large pan.
- Stir and bring to a boil and continue boiling until 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.
Tabby says
no stirring required? do you butter the pans?
Emily says
Fixed it, thanks!
Emily says
And, no, you don't need to butter the pan. If you cook it to the right temperature and let it cool, it should come up on easily.
thinklovesleepdine says
Sometimes I think we grew up in the same family. That's why I love your blog. So many recipes remind me of home.
Mandy says
Looks delicious! I was wondering if you might have a good recipe for frosting for Gingerbread houses? Something good and strong to hold them together? If you could let me know that would be great. I have a gingerbread house party tonight and would a recipe if you have one 🙂 Thank you
Emily says
Sorry Mandy, I don't have a great recipe for that! Let me know if you find one.
Porter's says
Mandy- I made these yesterday and there seems to be a problem with them. They have been cooling for about 16 hours now and they still haven't set enough to cut and wrap. What happened? Maybe I didn't boil it long enough?
Emily says
You didn't boil them long enough, if they don't get to a high enough temperature they will be sticky and un-wrappable. You want to make sure they are a light brown caramel color before taking them off the stove. Sorry your first attempt didn't turn out!
chad says
what do you mean by cube of butter? I’m assuming tablespoon.
Erica says
A cube is a stick or 1/2 cup
Evelyn says
Have made a similar recipe but without the butter. This would seem to be creamier. Originally recipe read to bring to a boil of 246 but after making the first batch of candy due to it being hard, we went only to 240. Thanks.
Lindsey says
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Emily says
you can use either, I prefer the unsalted.
Tracey says
Are these caramels hard or chewy? Also, how long do they last-if I was making them for a Christmas gift?
Erica says
They are chewy and they last a long time.. a couple weeks at least!
Tracey Huebshman says
Light or dark caro syrup?
Erica says
light
lisa ringuet says
Can’t wait to try your recipes. It is 9:20pm here in Texas and I cannot go to bed without making these. Will let you know how they turn out.
Erica says
I hope they turned out great!
Kendall says
I made these yesterday and it took me three attempts. First I tried 240 degrees, but it came out mushy. I re-melted it and then tried 245 but it was still way too soft to keep it’s shape. The third time was just right at about 253 degrees (on the candy thermometer it was the point just below hard ball). Perfectly firm yet chewy. They taste delicious and my family agrees. Definitely a winner! Thanks!
Yvette says
The problem that people are having is that they need to check their candy thermometer. Water boils at 212 degrees, if your water boils at 210, then you subtract 2 degrees from the recipe. Or it it boils at 203, then subtract 9 from the recipe, etc. This makes a HUGE difference!!! I always test my thermometer before making candies, weather, altitude, etc make a huge difference!!
Erica says
Thank you Yvette! That is a good rule of thumb! You are SO right about the weather.. last time I made them it was raining and they didn’t quite turn out right… weird huh?!
Tiffany says
This sounds great! Erica, do you have a suggestion for a dairy free whipping cream option?
Erica says
We haven’t tried making it dairy-free so I am not sure what to suggest so it will turn out right :/
Penny says
What size pan are you using 9×13 or 15×10?
Thank you
Echo says
We use a 15 x 10 jelly roll pan. Thanks for asking!
Cindy says
I just made these…they were EXCELLENT!….Question….how do you cut them? I tried a knife, heated knife and ended up with kitchen shears…but it was difficult.
Favorite Family Recipes says
Yes, scissors definitely make it easier if a knife isn’t cutting it (no pun intended lol)
Cindy says
How do you cut them? They were very hard to cut…tried a heated knife and ended up using kitchen shears.
Favorite Family Recipes says
We actually use kitchen shears to cut if it doesn’t cut easily with a knife! It is usually faster!
Shirley says
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.
Favorite Family Recipes says
Thank you, Shirley! That is a great suggestion!
Constance A Blair says
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?
Favorite Family Recipes says
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 🙂
Mariah says
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!
Favorite Family Recipes says
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.
Elsa says
I can’t seem to get a hold of the corn syrup is there anything else I can use as a substitute?
Favorite Family Recipes says
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!
Elsa says
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.
Alaska chick says
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.
Favorite Family Recipes says
So glad you enjoyed them!! Thanks for the 5-star rating!
Tracy says
A pizza cutter is genius! Thanks for sharing!