Classic Caramel Candies
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- Prep Time 25 minutes
- Total Time 8 hours 30 minutes
- Yield Makes approximately 120
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil, for baking sheet
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 1/4 cups light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
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Lightly brush bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet with oil. Line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on long sides; lightly brush parchment with oil.
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Bring cream, sugar, butter, and corn syrup to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook, stirring occasionally, until caramel reaches 248 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 15 minutes.
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Immediately remove caramel from heat, and stir in salt and vanilla. Pour caramel onto baking sheet, and let stand, uncovered, at room temperature at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
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Lifting by parchment overhang, transfer caramel to a large cutting board. Cut into 3/4-by-1 1/4-inch pieces; wrap each piece in waxed paper or cellophane.
These are fabulous! They stay soft and chewy over a 6 week period in a Ziploc bag. The only bad part is cutting all of that waxed paper. It tended to tear when I wrapped the caramels. Would look into using cellophane the next time.
Did not have any corn syrup, so I used 300 gr of glucose instead. Heated it til 243 ( NOT 248!!) and they truned out deliciously chewy. Definitely a keeper, will now try out the coffee-orange ones YUMMIE
This recipe is delicious. The caramel was quite hard when cooked to 248-degrees, I've made several batches, and everyone loved the flavor. There were people who liked the harder caramel, and some who liked it better when I pulled it off the stove at about 245-degrees. Again, stressing very flavorful, a sweet rich, pure caramel flavor.
I've made a few batches now and have found pouring them at 243 instead of 248 makes for a much more chewable caramel. However, I don't know what pan the test kitchens were using, but it takes WAY longer than 15 minutes for these to reach 248-- closer to 45 minutes for me. I've also found if you cut them while they're still soft (after resting 2 hours or so), then freeze them before breaking them, they come out in neat little squares that can be easily wrapped.
I have a cheap-o candy thermometer I bought at a grocery store and maybe it's not wholly accurate? I made these they turned out SUPER soft which is good, I had to cut with the tip of a knife as the stuck to the rest of the blade. Also stuck like crazy to the wrappers, they had to be scraped off! Definitely not presentable enough for gift giving but they are super tasty and I will work on the wrapper issue.
Like the other two commenters, this recipe did not come out quite like I expected. I can hardly cut through the caramel, and it breaks quite easily. I'm wondering if 248 is too high a temp for this recipe - most recipes for caramels only go up to 243. It's tasty, but I can't share it - especially with anyone who has fillings!!!
I am not sure if they were supposed to be chewy/soft or more like caramel nips. mine were closer to nips than chewy caramels, but quite tasty.
I am not sure if they were supposed to be chewy/soft or more like caramel nips. mine were closer to nips than chew caramels, but quite tasty.
I just made these last night and they came out very hard - much harder than I expected. I am not a candy-making novice - I know my way around a candy thermometer. Did anyone else have this problem? They're too hard for my teeth to handle, and when you drop a piece on the floor, it shatters.
These turned out perfectly, my husband says they are the best caramels he has ever had (high praise) wrapping them up to gift now too!
This caramel was easy to make - just follow the recipe to the letter! I used a 4QT sauce pan to make mine & had NO bubble-over issues at all! I did a taste before & after adding the salt & vanilla and it DEFINITELY makes the caramel! Technically mine is still "setting up" so I can't cut & wrap them just yet but I've been "sampling" and it's delicious! Thank you Martha! For more on my experience & some photos, go to: http://momentarilydistracted.blogspot.com/2012/11/homemade-caramel-candies.html