Homemade Caramels ~ An Easy and Favorite Holiday Candy Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the best thing to wrap homemade caramels in? ›

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.

You can cut them into any shape that you like - I use squares for my caramel stuffed cookies, or smaller pieces for my caramel brownies. The best way to cut the caramels is when they are cold from the fridge. Use a super sharp knife, and mark out your cuts before you make them.

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.

Make Ahead and Storing Instructions: homemade caramels will keep well in the fridge, covered or wrapped, for several weeks. Take them out to come to room temperature for them to be soft and chewy.

Add acid. Acid ingredients (like vinegar or lemon juice) can help prevent re-crystallization which causes caramel to become grainy. Acid physically breaks the bonds between the glucose and fructose molecules that form sucrose and ensure that it stays apart.

It's most important to score through the chocolate layer with a small sharp knife completely before pressing down firmly through the caramel and base (using a large, flat knife). If you try and cut all 3 layers at once, the chocolate will break and the caramel will squish out the sides.

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.

When making a wet caramel, water is added to help dissolve the sugar before cooking. Like dry caramel, you want to gently move the sugar mixture in that same side-to-side paintbrush-like fashion until the sugar dissolves.

Increasing reducing sugars will add to the flavor and color of caramel – but too much can cause excessive stickiness. Check the pH of premix, water and other ingredients, including scrap, to identify excessive inversion as the problem. Caramel premix should have a neutral pH (6.8-7.0).

This can happen if sugar crystals form on the sides of the saucepan or if the sugar syrup is mixed too much while cooking. Adjust the Heat: If the caramel cooked at a high heat, causing it to crystallize or burn, lower the heat for future batches.

Can you use milk instead of heavy cream in caramel? ›

You can use whole milk, almond milk, or evaporated milk in place of heavy cream. You'll need to cook it for a couple more minutes longer after you add it so it can thicken up a bit. Try adding vanilla extract to your caramel sauce for a boosted flavor.

This sweet sauce can be left out at room temperature for a few days, but because of the dairy incorporated into the sauce, it's best kept refrigerated. Plus, popping it in the fridge will keep your caramel sauce fresher for longer.

Recently we made the switch from plastic (cellophane) sheets to wrap our caramels to a paper wrapper. And there are several important reasons why we made the change, so please read on to find out why.

Pouring caramel into an ungreased pan

Make life easier by lining your pan with parchment paper and coating it with a layer of baking spray to keep the candy from sticking. Ready to get cooking?

And after many batches, we settled on our beloved recipe that we still use today after six years. I began by rolling our individual caramels in cellophane (a type of plastic) wrap. Partially I used this material because it's what I was used to, it's what the chocolatier that I studied under had used.

Caramel sauce should be stored in a heat-resistant, airtight container such as a jar or a glass microwave-safe bowl with a lid. This sweet sauce can be left out at room temperature for a few days, but because of the dairy incorporated into the sauce, it's best kept refrigerated.

Parchment and wax paper are both good options when making fudge, caramel, and candy. Both parchment and wax paper will do an excellent job lining pans, wrapping individual pieces, or creating barriers between layers when storing—the differences between the two papers for use with confections are minimal.