Old Fashioned Caramels
These old fashioned caramels are so good, you won’t believe you made them. They are rich, chewy and you will want to eat them forever. And while they take a little time to make, they are well worth the effort. If you are an avid candy maker and know your way around using (or not using) a candy thermometer, then this recipe will be a snap.
If you’ve ever tried making caramels (or any other candy) and they turned out either too hard or too soft, it means the syrup was either cooked for too long or not long enough, respectively.
These caramels have to be cooked to what’s known as “firm-ball stage,” in other words, 245 degrees F. The longer you cook any type of candy, the harder the result. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, simply drop some of the candy into ice water while it’s in syrup form. The ball that forms determines how hard the candy will be when it’s cooled, thus signaling whether or not it’s done.
Even though I own a candy thermometer, I don’t use it often. In this recipe, you have to either watch your thermometer—or do the ice water test—three times. First you cook only the sugar and corn syrup to a firm-ball stage (this only takes about five minutes—so be watchful!). Then you slowly add the lukewarm cream. You cook it to firm-ball stage again, and this time it takes much longer, 30-45 minutes. Finally, you add the butter and let it reach firm-ball stage one last time. This time it only takes another five minutes.
Why add these in stages and not all at once? Because making caramels this way yields a much smoother, creamier candy. Basically, the cream and butter are added in layers, so neither of them has a chance to get “cooked out” during the process. They keep their integrity so you can enjoy their flavors with every chew.
Wrapping these individually is a must, or they will stick together into one giant mess when you store them. In the video, I used fancy gold wrappers and they were pretty enough to paint. 
As you can see in these pics, hand-cut waxed paper works just as well. These caramels are great as they are, but I also use them for making turtles—I will show you how I do that in a future post. If for some reason they don’t set, don’t freak out! Heat the mixture again, add a little more cream and you have some seriously gourmet caramel sauce. If they become too hard , enjoy them as hard candy. However they turned out, you will fall in love with their decadence.
Old Fashioned Caramels
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, heat cream to lukewarm and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and salt. Stir over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved.
- Bring to a boil and stop stirring. Cook until it reach 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer or until a small amount of the mixture forms a firm ball when dropped into cold water. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Slowly stir in the cream, bit by bit so the mixture never stops boiling. When all the cream is added, cook again until it reaches 245 degrees F or firm-ball stage. This will take much longer, about 45 minutes. If using the cold water test method, start checking for firm ball after 30 minutes.
- Now add the butter pieces bit by bit, stirring constantly so the mixture never stops boiling again. When all the butter is gone, cook until it reaches firm-ball stage again. This will only take about five minutes.
- Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir well.
- Pour into a well oiled 8 or 9 inch square pan and cool for several hours until completely firm.
- Cut into 64 squares and wrap each one with waxed paper.
Hi my corn syrup is transparent in color unlike yours. So do u have any suggestions to make my candy a nice golden brown color like yours?
Hi! You can use the transparent corn syrup and your caramels will still turn golden brown. The colour comes from the sugar and cream cooking, not the corn syrup. Hope this helps!
Could I use browned butter instead?
i have never tried but I don’t see why not 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! I have had mixed luck with caramels in the past but these turned out perfectly chewy.
Happy to hear! This is an old recipe and the only one I make 🙂
After you add cream and cook for 30-45 minutes do you stir constantly, intermittently or not at all?
You do not stir it at all. This would incorporate air which you do not want, and possibly form crystals that could ruin the caramel. I hope this helps!
When adding butter, does it matter if it’s refrigerated or cold from the fridge?
I meant to ask if the butter can be at room temperature or refrigerated
Thank you for your question! It does not matter whether the butter is cold or room temperature. I hope you enjoy the recipe 😀
Can I save time by just heating the first 5 ingredients all at once, like many other people do, or will this cause problems? Also, what causes caramel to get hard as a rock when trying to make turtles? The recipe I have says boil to 250. Is that too high?
You could boil the 5 ingredients right away, but you won’t get the same rich caramel flavour that cooking in stages will yield. Plus you can risk burning the butter. The reason caramels turn hard is if the syrup gets cooked too long. You can usually remedy this by adding more liquid (like cream, milk or even water). The 250F (actually considered hard ball stage) temperature works perfectly for a good firm, chewy caramel. I hope this helps.