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.

Homemade caramel typically lasts about 2 weeks when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Refrigerating homemade caramel can extend its shelf life to about a month, and freezing it can further prolong its usability up to a year. However, the texture may change slightly upon thawing.

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.

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.

For these homemade caramels you want a heavy-bottomed stainless steel pan. I recommend using a pan that does NOT have a nonstick coating. Heavy-bottomed simply means the pot or pan has a thicker base. It shouldn't be thin and tinny.

Swirl, don't stir: While slow, deliberate stirring will help the sugar dissolve evenly, you want to stop stirring once it has fully melted.

Start by wrapping them individually in wax paper, twisting the ends to close, then storing them on their own in an airtight container in a cool, dry area of your kitchen. This will create a waterproof seal around the candies. At room temperature, soft caramel candies will last for as long as nine months.

Why does my homemade caramel taste bitter? ›

Follow the recipe carefully, and never melt your caramel on your stove's highest setting—it will cause the caramel to scorch and taste burnt. Once it gets a burnt or bitter flavor, it can't be saved. Luckily, sugar is inexpensive, so you can always start over!

If it's grainy, don't panic—there's still hope. Identify the Cause: Grainy caramel sauce typically results from sugar crystallization during the cooking process. This can happen if sugar crystals form on the sides of the saucepan or if the sugar syrup is mixed too much while cooking.

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.

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.

You will need to store the caramel sauce in the refrigerator, so it will firm up even more once chilled. Just bring it back to room temperature and microwave before drizzling or dipping!

Professional caramel wrappers don't stick to your caramels or taffy, resist tearing, and hold their twist. These cellophane caramel wrappers meet FDA standards for direct food contact. Bulk package of 1000 cellophane wrappers. Great for twist wrapping individual hard candies or suckers.

While it's good to keep caramel sauce in a glass jar when you store it in a fridge, you might want to avoid glass when you freeze it. Instead, put your caramel sauce in an airtight plastic container.

To help prevent the caramel from crystallizing, you can add an acid to the sugar before you begin: add about half a tablespoon of lemon juice to each cup of sugar and mix it with your hands; it should be the consistency of wet sand. Heat the sugar over medium-high heat until it melts.