Soft Creamy Caramel Candy
I love caramel candy, but I’m not a big fan of of the stick in your teeth, hard to chew variety of caramels. Back when I first posted this recipe, there weren’t a lot of options for plain caramel candies at my local grocery store. In fact, there was essentially a single option and, even straight from a brand new freshly opened bag, they were hard to chew and stuck horribly in my teeth. Once the bag was opened it was just down hill from there. If I didn’t enjoy eating these caramels, why would I want to use them in my baked goods?
I decided that the best approach was to simply make my own. That gave me complete control over the texture and the flavor. I could make them deliciously soft and creamy while still having a characteristic caramel chew. I could adjust the levels of vanilla or salt. I could swap the vanilla for a different extract to experiment with other flavors or I could add in other kinds of ingredients to alter the flavor profile like coffee, or apple cider (in place of the water – make sure you master the recipe first, the color of these other ingredients can make it difficult to determine if the caramel is too light or dark). The options and variations are endless!
Today, there are many more caramel options at my grocery store, not to mention online options that will ship straight to my home. As a result, I don’t make these quite as often as I used to, but I still think it is a fantastic recipe to have in your repertoire. The recipe uses some pretty basic pantry ingredients that many people are likely to have on hand. I have not tried with any plant based milks or creams, but the recipe will work with evaporated milk, heavy cream, light cream or half and half. I wouldn’t suggest trying whole, 2%, 1% or skim milk in these – they are more likely to break and ruin the texture of the candy. This is also a great “starter” caramel recipe. The corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk protect the mixture from crystallization and there are no judgement calls regarding the color or consistency of the mixture – simply stir continuously and heat to the specified temperature.
Equipment
- pan 8×8 inch
Ingredients
- 8 ounce evaporated milk
- 4 ounce sweetened condensed milk
- 8 ounce light corn syrup
- 2 ounce water
- 8 ounce granulated sugar
- 2 ounce butter unsalted, softened and cut into pieces
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 inch pan with foil and butter the foil.
- In a small sauce pan, warm the evaporated milk and condensed milk to a simmer without boiling, set aside.8 ounce evaporated milk, 4 ounce sweetened condensed milk
- In a deep sauce pan over med high heat, combine sugar, water and corn syrup. Stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved and then leave alone until the mixture reaches 250° F.8 ounce light corn syrup, 2 ounce water, 8 ounce granulated sugar
- Carefully and slowly add the milk mixture to the syrup mixture, it will bubble furiously and the temperature will reduce by 30-40 degrees.
- Stir constantly until the mixture reaches 244° F. Remove from heat and quickly add the salt, vanilla and butter stirring until the butter is incorporated and the mixture is creamy.2 ounce butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Immediately pour the caramel into the prepared pan, set aside to cool and set overnight.
- Once set, remove from pan and cut into individual pieces (approximately 1×1 inch squares).
Nutrition
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