Homemade Salted Caramels Recipe | Moms Need To Know ™ (2024)

by Mindi Cherry

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Sweet and salty come together with these easy to make salted caramels. Perfect for a little sweet snack or as a great addition to a cookie tray!

Homemade Salted Caramels Recipe | Moms Need To Know ™ (1)

I don't know who ever came up with the idea of adding salt to caramels, but I would love to thank them one day. The combination of sweet and salty is usually delicious (that's why my husband is so happy when I make him some chocolate-covered bacon!)

I do love salted caramels but I can't quite figure out why they are so much more expensive than other caramels (if you can even find them in the grocery store). I can buy a huge bag of caramels for about $1.50 when we are making caramel apples, but throw about ½ of $0.01 of salt on those caramels? The price triples! Caramels are just so easy to make and besides - these salted caramels will be a nice addition to the cookie trays that I make to pass out at Christmas!

I've made caramels many times and tasted homemade caramels from others and there is one mistake that many people make that can easily be avoided....when you are first heating up the water, corn syrup and sugar mixture, you want to make sure that you keep the sugar crystals off the side of the pan or else you can end up with some "crunchies" in your caramel. I do this easily by putting the lid on the pot for about a minute as soon as it comes to a boil. This traps the moisture in and "washes" any sugar crystals back in to the mixture.

It's not the end of the world if you have those "crunchies", but most people do prefer the smooth creaminess of caramels without the crunchies!

One last thing - when you are adding the cream and butter to your sugar syrup mixture, make sure to do it very slowly or else you can have a bubbled up mess! Just trust me on this one!

Scroll down for the directions!

Homemade Salted Caramels Recipe | Moms Need To Know ™ (3)

Homemade Salted Caramels Recipe | Moms Need To Know ™ (4)

Homemade Salted Caramels Recipe

Sweet and salty come together with these easy to make salted caramels.

5 from 1 vote

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Author: Mindi

Ingredients

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup Butter
  • ¼ cup Corn Syrup
  • ¼ cup Water
  • ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • ½ teaspoon Course Sea Salt

Instructions

  • Spray with non stick spray and line an 9×5 loaf dish with parchment so that excess paper comes up the sides.

  • Cut up butter into slices and combine with cream and microwave 1-2 minutes until butter is melted.

  • In the medium to large saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water.

  • Stir just until the sugar is moistened and uniform, being careful not to splash sugar on sides.

  • Heat over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil.

  • Cover with a lid for 1 minute (this helps wash any sugar on sides back in).

  • Remove lid and do not stir the after this point.

  • Place the pot with the sugar mixture over medium to medium-high heat.

  • Let the sugar syrup come to a boil without stirring.

  • Cook until mixture reaches 320, the syrup will begin to darken slightly.

  • Turn off the heat and slowly add the warm cream and butter mixture a little at a time while gently whisking (will bubble violently).

  • Turn burner back on to medium-high.

  • Let the caramel come to a boil and reach 240 without stirring.

  • Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla.

  • Pour into the prepared pan.

  • Cool 20 to 30 minutes then scatter the salt over the caramel.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Linda at Mixed Kreations

    Yummy! I love caramel, your recipe looks pretty easy. Thanks for sharing! Pinning and sharing!

  2. Chrissa - Physical Kitchness

    NOM! These look so easy!!! My mom makes caramel like this for the holidays, but I'm using your version! Pinning!

  3. Megan

    Those look awesome! My grandmother always makes the Christmas caramels, but now that I live so far away, I might have to finally try it. Thanks for sharing on Whimsy Wednesday!

  4. Denise

    These look so yummy! Thanks for linking up to Home Matters Party. #HomeMattersParty

  5. Melissa

    Homemade Salted Caramels Recipe | Moms Need To Know ™ (9)
    Hey just stopping by to let you know that this awesome post was picked as one of the feature post for the #HOMEMATTERSPARTY this week. You can stop by and check it out here http://adventuresfrugalmom.com/home-matters-linky-party-66/. Also while you are there make sure to grab the I was featured button for you sidebar. Congrats on being selected

  6. Audrey

    These look delicious! Congrats on your #HomeMattersParty feature.

Homemade Salted Caramels Recipe | Moms Need To Know ™ (2024)

FAQs

Why didn't my homemade caramels harden? ›

If caramels are too soft, that means the temperature didn't get high enough. Again place the caramel back into a sauce pan with a couple of tablespoons of water and heat to 244°F. If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can test with a cold water test.

Why do homemade caramels stick to wax paper? ›

Cut waxed paper for caramel wrappers -

In general the paper sold for home use is too light weight, the grain of the paper isn't made to withstand twisting (it tears), and the wax coating is too light to prevent the moisture from the candy from seaping into the paper and weakening it thus causing it to tear and stick.

How do I get my caramel to harden? ›

Refrigerate until cooled and hardened. (Best if you refrigerate them overnight, or for several hours. They will be easier to cut and wrap). The caramel will seem hard in the fridge after they're set, but they should be soft at room temperature.

What makes caramel soft vs hard? ›

Heat until the syrup reaches 240 to 245 degrees Fahrenheit. The lower the temperature, the softer the resulting caramels will be.

What are 3 key ingredients that are added to caramels to prevent it from crystallizing? ›

Adding an acid like lemon juice is another way to prevent sucrose from crystallizing. The cream and butter also act as “interfering agents” as the milk proteins in both help to prevent crystal formation. Ingredients such as vanilla, flavorings, salt, and nuts (or baking soda for caramel corn) are all added at the end.

What is the best wrapping for homemade caramels? ›

Most caramels will need a little time at room temperature in order to cut more easily. Cut in squares and wrap in waxed paper or parchment paper. Wrapped caramels can also be frozen.

How to keep homemade caramels from sticking together? ›

If you want to make sure they don't stick you can cut the Reynolds Release foil into squares and use that. It works great for sticky candy.

Should salted caramel be refrigerated? ›

Allow the sauce to cool for a bit in the pot, then pour into a glass jar or other airtight container and cool completely, then store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. You can gently warm it up in the microwave or on the stove over low heat before using it again.

How do you thicken salted caramel? ›

You can adjust the consistency of the final caramel sauce by cooking it a bit longer or by adding more cream. If you want the final (cooled) sauce to be thicker, cook it a bit longer to remove more moisture. If you want it to be runnier, add more cream (a tablespoon or two at a time).

Why does salted caramel not freeze? ›

The salt prevents it from freezing completely, so melts faster and doesn't keep its shape as well," she says, “If people are getting two different scoops, I always suggest salted caramel as the top, so they don't have to worry about it melting.” Hold.

Why is my homemade caramel so runny? ›

Add more sugar to the sauce.

Most caramel sauces are made by caramelizing sugar and adding milk and a little salt. If you increase the amount of sugar in the recipe you'll end up with a thicker caramel. Try increasing the sugar by about 1/3.

How long does it take for caramel to go hard? ›

How long does it take caramel to set? Give your caramel at least two hours to set, or overnight if possible. You can also pop caramel into the fridge to help it set up faster. The caramel will sweat a little when brought out of the fridge, but will still taste fine.

Why is my caramel not forming? ›

Make absolutely certain the pan is clean AND your sugar is clean and free from impurities like dirt or residue. Sugar crystals can hook up with those impurities causing your caramel to seize and crystallize.

Why are my homemade caramels sticky? ›

This can be caused by extended cooking times (especially under acidic conditions) and the use of the enzyme invertase. Increasing reducing sugars will add to the flavor and color of caramel – but too much can cause excessive stickiness.

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