This weekend, let’s satisfy our candy cravings and make homemade caramels completely from scratch. Before you run away at the thought of making caramel, let me assure you that making chewy creamy soft caramels on the stovetop is SO easy.
A 15 minute ordeal where all you have to do is… stir.
I’m being serious. If you know how to stir, you know how to make caramels from scratch. They’re truly that simple.
And, let me tell ya, homemade caramel candies taste even better than anything you can buy at the store. Especially when you flavor them with vanilla bean and extra sea salt on top. Friends, just check out all those vanilla bean specks!!
Here’s exactly what you’ll need to make these sea salt vanilla caramels and why. When making candy, it’s important to know what each ingredient does in the recipe. Because it really is chemistry! Delicious chemistry. There are very little ingredients (just 7!) required and each one plays an equally imperative role.
Heavy cream. Or heavy whipping cream. Cream is the base of these caramels and what makes them, well, CREAMY!
Sugar. Duh! Caramel is sugar and sugar is caramel. 🙂
Brown sugar. I looooove adding brown sugar to caramels because it keeps them incredibly soft and chewy. This is because brown sugar has a lot of moisture.
Corn syrup. It’s a controversial ingredient, for sure, but an imperative one for making candy as it prevents crystallization and keeps the caramels smooth as silk. What I like to keep in mind is that there are far worse processed ingredients in store-bought candies and only 1/3 cup of corn syrup divided over 65 candies is like .00000001 teaspoon per caramel. Or something like that.
These are the 4 main ingredients. After the caramel is made, remove it from heat and immediately stir these ingredients in for flavor:
A smidgen of butter… yum! Makes them even softer and creamier, too.
Vanilla extract and vanilla bean. Vanilla bean can be a little hard to come by, but I usually find it in the baking aisle of most major grocery stores. And there’s always online. Amazon has them for a steal!
Salt because we always need a little salty with our sweet.
Here are 3 tools you’ll need and why each is important.
Sturdy pan. A thick-bottomed and sturdy pan which is KEY to even heat distribution. Thinner, cheaper pans can scorch the cooking candy and cook it unevenly. Here are some great choices: Anolon Nouvelle Copper and Crestware. I own a couple pricier copper pots because of the amount of candy I make. In all honesty, you can’t beat their quality.
Candy thermometer. Don’t get nervous! Candy thermometers make your job even easier, not harder! It literally tells you when your candy is ready, ensuring consistency and success. I prefer using digital candy thermometers. Here is an excellent choice right here. If calibrated, a candy thermometer is 1000x more accurate than using your eyes to detect candy’s doneness. See My Favorite Candy Making Tools for how/why to calibrate.
Pastry brush. A pastry brush is imperative when making candy—its purpose is to help rid the saucepan of any sugar syrup or cooking candy that may have splashed up on the sides. The candy on the sides of the pan can burn and crystallize, ruining your batch of candy. Running a water-moistened pastry brush around the sides of the pan helps prevent this from happening.
More on my favorite candy making tools right here!
Pour the hot caramel into a lined pan. I always line it with aluminum foil because it’s very easy to get that foil lined nice and snug in the pan. Lightly butter the foil so the caramels peel off easily. Then let the caramels cool for about 4 hours (or overnight) at room temperature. Then cut into rectangles or little squares.
I usually give caramels out or bring them with me to events, so I individually wrap them. And I’m sure you’ll give some away as well—I know I can’t be trusted with 65 caramels in my kitchen TAUNTING me! But maybe you’re stronger than I am. I’ve tested out many different types of wrappers and these twisting candy wrappers are the easiest to use and the perfect size. They’re great for homemade truffles or other candies too! I went through a ton while writing Sally’s Candy Addiction.
This is my go-to base for homemade caramels. Sometimes I even dip them into dark chocolate after I cut them. My piece of advice? Place one in your mouth and let it melt on your tongue. Truly an indulgence!
And if you can’t get enough of salted caramel, try my salted caramel cupcakes with salted caramel frosting next! Or these white chocolate caramel cashew clusters. You can’t go wrong when it comes to salted caramel 😉
For more gluten free sweet treats, see my roundup of 40 gluten free dessert recipes that everyone loves. These soft caramel candies included!
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Soft Caramel Candies
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 65 caramels
- Category: Candy
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These sea salt vanilla caramels are unbelievably soft and chewy; the ultimate sweet and salty candy treat. The recipe makes a big batch to share!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (355ml) heavy cream
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- seeds scraped from 1/2 of a vanilla bean
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, softened (plus more for lightly buttering the pan)
- coarse sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving enough overhang on the sides to easily remove the caramel once it has set. Lightly grease the foil with butter.
- Combine the cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and corn syrup in a 3-quart heavy duty saucepan over medium heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir constantly as the sugars dissolve. The mixture will be thick and cloudy looking.
- Once boiling, brush down the sides of the pan with a water-moistened pastry brush. Attach a candy thermometer to the pan, making sure not to let it touch the bottom.
- Without stirring, cook until the temperature reaches 245°F (118°C). Immediately remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of salt, the vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds, and butter. The mixture may burst and bubble, so be careful stirring.
- Pour the hot caramel into the prepared baking pan and top with coarse sea salt, if desired. Allow to cool at room temperature, uncovered, for 4 hours or overnight (no need to cover).
- Once set, remove the caramel from the pan by lifting out the aluminum foil. Peel the foil off and, using a very sharp knife, cut into rectangles or squares. Wrap with candy wrappers, if desired.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Wrapped caramels keep at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 8-inch Square Baking Pan | Heavy Duty Saucepan (like this one or this one) | Wooden Spoon | Pastry Brush | Digital Candy Thermometer | Candy Wrappers
Hi Sally! I have made this recipe several times, and absolutely love it! I recently made a batch of invert sugar for a fudge recipe, and am wondering if I could use the invert sugar in this recipe, instead of the corn syrup?
Hi Lisa, we haven’t tried that here, but let us know how it turns out if you do!
My family loves them! They were the perfect texture and the recipe was easy to follow!
I make a Snickers bar knockoff using a manufacturers brand caramel. These can tend to be on the hard side esp since the bars are refrigerated. The caramel isn’t brittle but it can be difficult to bite through. Wondering if you have refrigerated your caramel and it stays somewhat soft and malleable to the touch. Easy to bite through when refrigerated to 45 deg F
It’s not quite as soft as the caramel in a Snickers bar, but you could try cooking the caramel to a slightly lower temperature so it’s a bit looser. Let me know what you try.
Could this recipe be used to make turtles?
Hi Jane, this should work well for turtles. Let us know how you like it!
I love this recipe and I have made it a dozen times. Half the time it’s perfect and half the time it’s not because I messed up. I’ve over cooked it and undercooked it and stirred too much at the end and ended up getting some crystallized sugar in it. But ALL these mistakes have been fixed by adding 2T of water and cooking the cooled caramel again. Seriously it’s always fixable with a recook. I cooked my last batch FOUR times until it was just perfect. I think this should be noted in the recipe because I saw some comments of people mad it came out too hard…just cook the hard caramels again and do a couple degrees lower! Magic!
I made this just now, and while it’s sweet and tasty, it doesn’t have that rich, buttery salted caramel taste that I was hoping for. I’m a big fan of SBA’s salted caramel sauce, but this recipe doesn’t capture that magic. 3.5 stars for flavour, 4 for how easy this recipe is to do.
Hi, the flavor of these turned out great! Your recipe was so easy to follow for my first attempt. They did turn out a little too soft however which made it hard to cut and wrap as they’d kind of mush back together, did I not cook them long enough? Let me know please I’d love to try again!!
Hi Hannah! Yes, it sounds like they could have cooked for a bit longer. Glad you enjoyed the flavor, candies can be tricky!
Perfection! And so easy!! I wanted to make caramels, but was really put off by some of the complicated recipes I was seeing. This is SO easy and they turned out perfectly. I have a Taylor candy thermometer. I used Trader Joe’s vanilla paste plus the bean and heavy whipping cream. I doubled the recipe and definitely caution to use a big enough pan as it bubbles a lot in the beginning and threatens to overflow.
The salt definitely makes it. I might’ve eaten as many as I wrapped… . I simply cut wax paper strips into thirds–super fast and economical.
This is going to be my go to from now on!
Thanks Sally!
Is there a way to add Whiskey to the caramels? And if so; how much and when should I add it?
Hi Ashley, I’ve never tried adding whiskey to the cooking candy. You could try stirring in 1-2 Tablespoons after removing the cooked candy from heat and before pouring into the pan. (Again, I haven’t tested it to be certain!)
could I use maple syrup or Honey instead of corn syrup ?
Hi Dorothy! We really recommend sticking with corn syrup for these soft caramels.
Hi there! Can I substitute more vanilla extract in place of the vanilla bean?
Hi Lily, feel free to simply leave out the vanilla bean. These soft caramel candies will still cook properly and will still have plenty of flavor without the beans.
I’ve seen some recipes for caramels that say to not stir, or stir very little, and occasionally swirl the pan. Yet other recipes say to constantly stir. Have you tried both methods?
Hi Rich, I’m just seeing your question now. When writing my candy cookbook several years ago, I found that certain recipes require an occasional stir and they are usually recipes that have a lot of butter (helps avoid the melting butter from separating). Other recipes, like this one, cook down better when there’s no stirring as the temperature rises as stirring can cause crystallization and the mixture can seize.
I live in Denver, Colorado, where the elevation is 5280 feet. Do you know how elevation impacts the recipe? Water boils at about 10 degrees lower here than it does at room temperature. Should I only cook the caramel to 135 degrees? Thanks
Hi Armando! I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
What a coincidence — I’m in Denver, looking at this recipe on the same exact day and wondering the exact same thing! I’ve read somewhere else that every 1,000 feet above sea level you are to reduce the final temperature by 2 degrees F… I’m going to give that a go tomorrow! Sending you luck on your altitude caramel trial!
Hey Armando! Where I live the elevation is 5,846 feet. I did not change anything about this recipe and they turned out amazing! Well that’s not true, I did leave out the vanilla bean. So I did change one thing. But these will turn out amazing if you follow the recipe. My sister in law, who doesn’t like caramels, tried mine during Thanksgiving and has asked me for this recipe.
If you are worried about getting them to the correct degree, you can always use the cold water trick. Have a bowl of cold water ready. Watching your candy thermometer, when it hits 135 degrees, take out a small amount with a spoon and put it into cold water. The caramel will harden to the stage that it is cook too. At 135 degrees, it will be a soft ball stage. Handling the caramel after it’s been in cold water it should be soft and squishy, but still hold it shape. That is how the rest of your batch will turn out once cooled.
Can these be frozen?
Hi Kat! For best taste and texture, we don’t recommend freezing these before enjoying. They don’t thaw quite nicely and lose a lot of their chewiness/softness.
I put the vanilla in before the caramel was done; once. I got the brown flakes. Now, I wait and stir it in last, just when taking it off to he burner, after the temperature is reached.
I love all your recipes. I tried the soft caramel candy for some reason mine came out hard. I’m not sure if my candy thermometer was working properly going out to get a digital one.. will try again
Hi Lucia, The most common culprit of hard caramels is overcooking. When the caramel is overcooked, that’s when it gets hard. Make sure that your thermometer is calibrated and next time, if you wish to be extra sure it will stay soft, try cooking to only 240. Let us know if you give them another try!
Halved the recipe for my 1st ever attempt at making caramels. They came out spectacularly soft and tasty – even though I didn’t have vanilla bean and just used some extra vanilla extract. Thank you Sally for making your directions so easy to follow. I’ve always been nervous to make caramel but these were surprisingly easy.
I just made this caramel at it tastes incredible but I do have a question. I had to use coconut cream because of a milk protein allergy and chose to just use vanilla extract and dark brown sugar. My finished caramel has little dark brown spots all through it, do you know what may have caused that? The taste is wonderful and not the least bit burned and just reached 118 dec C.
Hi David, we’re so glad you enjoyed the candies! It sounds like the dark spots may be pieces of *slightly* burnt sugar. That can sometimes happen if the sugar is heated too quickly or for too long. An easy fix for next time!
I wanted this to work as I usually love your recipes. Ours was hard as a rock, even after adjusting for high altitude. Good if you want hard candy.
Very delicious taste. I waited too long to take it off the heat. Never got to 245 degrees on candy thermometer but began to smell burnt. Turned out harder than expected but still yummy. Maybe I need a new thermometer.
Thanks for good recipe.
This is SO delicious! I have made it several times. Today I mixed chocolate ganache with 1/2 of it (warm cream and 1/2 an extra large Hershey bar) and I’m going to layer the two after a couple hours.
Love this recipe! Was SO easy to make, and came out SO good!!! 🙂
Sally, this is an excellent recipe but what I like better is the way you wrote it out so beginners could not only see what it was supposed to look like but could know why and how things help or hurt. great work. I am 80 yrs. old and have been cooking candy since I was 3. My grandmother published a tiny recipe book for candy during the Depression. and that was a miracle because sugar and coffee were almost non-existent. lol. Just thought you might enjoy that little story. what I would like to know is if you have ever used allulose in making candy as the sugar replacement for white sugar and also I make brown sugar allulose. I use it in baking banana bread, cookies, etc, all the time but have never used it like this, what do you think?
Thank you so much for the kind comment! We haven’t tested this recipe using allulose and don’t have much experience using it in general. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a recipe that is specifically formulated for allulose. Thank you!
Can you use this to make caramel taffy apples? Not a dipping sauce but you know the apples on a stick? Thanks! 🙂
Here’s our homemade caramel apples recipe!
Worked like a charm……as usual. Sally, your page is our go to for any dessert recipes we want to try. In this case I wanted to make caramel and had already reviewed two or three recipes online. At the lsat minute, I decided to see if Sally had caramel candies as well even though its not baking. Of course, when i found this recipe, I compared notes and as usual, Sally’s had the best instructions, explanations and a video to watch the process. Thanks for a great web page! I’ve lost track of how many recipes we’ve learned or improved checking to see what Sally has to say.
Would these work well poured over a layer of pretzels? Or would the pretzels get soggy?
Hi Kirsten, here’s our salted caramel sauce recipe–it would be great drizzled over pretzels!
Hi Sally, I love this recipe 🙂 I would like to add pumpkin puree to this recipe to make pumpkin caramel candies – how much do you suggest I add. Also would it be better to add the puree initially, when heating up the heavy cream, or later, when the caramel has reached the soft ball stage?
Hi Kaavya! We haven’t tried adding pumpkin puree to this candy recipe, and it would take quite a bit of testing since pumpkin can be so wet. If you wanted to do some experimenting, we’d probably start by trying it with the heavy cream. You could also try adding some pumpkin pie spice for flavor instead. Let us know if you give it a go!
Hi Sally, can I use these caramels to make caramel stuffed brownies? Will they become all ooey gooey but not integrate complexly into the brownie batter upon baking?
Hi Molly, caramel can be a bit tricky in brownies, so we recommend following our method from these salted caramel turtle brownies. (And you can read all about our testing there, if you’re interested!)