homemade caramel

Learn How To Make Caramel with Delish.com for the best homemade dessert topping. It's so much easier than it seems and is only three main ingredients: butter, sugar, and heavy cream. It also makes a great holiday gift!

How To Make Caramel

c. sugar

kosher salt

water

heavy cream

butter,

What's your favorite dessert to eat with caramel?

This caramel is soooo good, but add the cream and butter when it’s yellow, not copper for best results

Love the ease of this caramel recipe! Thanks a million!

When you said to cook the caramel 5 minutes longer without stirring it, my caramel burned and tasted bitter. Because of that I needed to think of a quick new filling for my cake. I think that if you make this without doing the last part where you let it sit on the heat for 5 minutes without stirring. Your good.

Perfect explanation on how to do this! I had 100% success! Caramel is delicious. Like others, it took me just over 10 minutes for it to get to the perfect caramel-y color, but totally worth it.
Thanks!

Thank you for this recipe. It was really great!

I love this recipe, it's simple and tasty. I've used it on Ice cream, in chocolate caramels, and straight from the jar.

This caramel recipe is so delicious, my family ate the whole thing before I could use it to fill 
my cupcakes! 10/10

I followed this recipe exactly. Melted the sugar and water on moderate then when bubbling turned it full bore took a couple more minutes but as soon as it started to colour around the edges of the pan I took it off the heat. The residual heat finished the caramalization in seconds without burning. Plopped in the butter and cream for a quick whisk and hey presto perfect caramel sauce. Took 8 minutes start finish. I'm sure the trick is to remove the sugar as soon as you see the edges in the pan darkening. Really was perfect caramel.

On my first attempt, I let it get up to 350°F (which took longer than 5 minutes) and it wound up tasting a little burnt; it was still pretty tasty. However,  next time I'm going to try gauging it by color rather than strictly temperature. 
Granted, I was using cheap pans and an electric stove *le sigh.*
Also, make sure you use a tall pan, as the boiling caramel WILL bubble up quite high, and boiling over will cause an ungodly mess.

I do not know why, but my caramel crystalized. I tried again and it did the same thing. 
It smelled amazing and was very easy, however.

Thank you for this recipe and your thoroughness! Much appreciated :)

amazing caramel really delicious i recommend this recipe:)

It is pretty good caramel sauce. It did take me about 10 min for the golden color though.

https://streaming.hearstdigitalstudios.com/67146a6b-caf2-4f4d-95da-9c8d769a1cbf/video_rover_16x9_1080p_hd_1588282233_54384.mp4

Making homemade caramel can seem daunting. But it's not at all when you follow these tips!

Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce Goes On EVERYTHING

This homemade salted caramel sauce is creamy, buttery, rich, thick, smooth, and blows away anything you’ll ever buy. Best of all, it&#x27;s done in 15 minutes!

Salted Caramel Sauce

sugar

light-colored corn syrup

cream

vanilla extract, optional (or substitute with bourbon, rum, Grand Marnier,

salt, optional and

In a medium to large saucepan (use a...

In a medium to large saucepan (use a pan much larger than you think you’ll need because the sauce will bubble very vigorously at the end), add the sugar, water, corn syrup and bring to a boil over high heat, whisking until sugar has dissolved.

Allow the mixture to boil for 5 to...

Allow the mixture to boil for 5 to 12 minutes, or as necessary, for it to turn caramel-colored, at which point it will likely be smoking slightly. The final stage where the mixture turns from pale amber to that perfect shade of caramel can go quickly, in less than 30 seconds, so keep a watchful eye and don’t let it burn. Super stinky and you’ll have to start over. Throughout the boiling time, you can swirl the pan gently every minute or two if necessary, but the less the sugary mixture gets on the sides of the pan, the better in preventing crystallization in the final sauce.

As soon as the sauce has turned caramel-colored,...

As soon as the sauce has turned caramel-colored, reduce the heat to low.

Very carefully and slowly, add the cream. Stand...

Very carefully and slowly, add the cream. Stand back because mixture will bubble up considerably.

Optionally, and very carefully, add the vanilla and...

Optionally, and very carefully, add the vanilla and salt, to taste. Stand back because mixture will bubble up again.

Whisk until sauce is smooth and combined, and...

Whisk until sauce is smooth and combined, and let it boil another 1 minute, which helps thicken it up.

Transfer sauce to glass jar or heat-safe container...

Transfer sauce to glass jar or heat-safe container (easiest to pour into a 2-cup measuring cup and then easily pour into glass jar). Allow sauce to cool uncovered to room temperature; sauce thickens considerably as it cools.

Sauce will keep airtight at room temp for...

Sauce will keep airtight at room temp for at least 1 month, although will likely last much longer; use common sense if giving as gifts with storage considerations.

A little fine sea salt helps this Homemade Salted Caramel Iced Coffee stay smooth and taste extra sweet. Make this coffee house favorite at home for less!&nbsp;

Homemade Salted Caramel Iced Coffee

Tbsp butter*

tsp fine sea salt

tsp vanilla extract

coffee

To make the salted caramel, add the granulated sugar and water to a heavy bottomed sauce pot. Place the pot over medium-high heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved and it begins to boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and allow the sugar to boil, without stirring, until it turns a deep amber color (about 7-10 minutes).

Once the sugar turns deep amber, remove it from the heat immediately, as it can go from caramelized to burned rather quickly. Whisk in the heavy cream until smooth (if the caramelized sugar clumps from the cold cream, simply return the pot to very low heat and whisk until it has dissolved in). Whisk in the butter, salt, and vanilla extract.

Allow the caramel to cool (it will thicken considerably as it cools). This batch of caramel makes about 10 ounces and can stay refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

To make the Salted Caramel Iced coffee, place about 2 Tbsp of the salted caramel in the bottom of a mug or heat safe cup. Add 8 ounces strong coffee and stir until the caramel has dissolved.

Fill a separate serving glass with ice (if desired, drizzle more caramel inside the glass first). Pour the coffee and caramel mixture over the ice. Serve immediately, or add a splash of milk or cream, and a small pinch of sea salt.

Using sweetened condensed milk, this caramel drizzle is made in 10 minutes.  It&#039;s an easy treat to drizzle on apples, ice cream, and so much more.

Easy Caramel Drizzle with Sweetened Condensed Milk

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

brown sugar

unsalted butter

salt

vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, bring condensed milk and brown sugar to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly.  Reduce heat, and simmer (low) for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Continue to whisk constantly.

Remove pan from heat and immediately whisk in butter, salt, and pure vanilla extract*.

These gluten free caramel cookies taste kind of like Twix bars… but better. With a perfectly buttery and crisp shortbread base, a luxurious gooey-chewy caramel layer and a crisp chocolate shell, they’re just outrageously delicious. They’re also surprisingly easy to make – and yes, that includes the from-scratch caramel! So, if you’ve been missing Twix bars, you can now make your own homemade, gluten free, caramel-packed treats inspired by this candy classic.

Gluten Free Caramel Cookies (Homemade Twix)

65 g (½ stick + ½ tbsp) unsalted butter, softened

g (2 ½ tbsp) caster/superfine sugar

vanilla bean paste ((or 1 tsp vanilla extract))

flour

g (¼ cup) corn starch (US)/cornflour (UK)

g (4 tsp) whole milk, room temperature

+ ½ tbsp) double/heavy cream

g (½ cup) granulated or caster/superfine sugar

golden syrup

salt (optional)

flaky sea salt (optional)

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 320ºF (160ºC) and line two large baking sheets with baking/parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix the softened butter, sugar and vanilla together with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until combined. Tip: Don’t cream or aerate the mixture, as that can make the cookies spread out in the oven and lose their shape, which is something you want to avoid (note the absence of any raising agents for the same reason).

Sift in the gluten free flour blend, corn starch, xanthan gum and salt. Mix it all together until you get a fairly dry mixture – it will be very crumbly and it won’t stick together very well.

Add the milk and mix well until it starts coming together.

Give it a thorough knead (because it’s gluten free you don’t need to worry about over-working the dough!) until it comes together in a smooth ball. The cookie dough might be very slightly crumbly or crack in places, but it should hold together well.

Roll the dough to a thickness of about 4-5mm between two sheets of baking/parchment paper. Tip: Rolling between sheets of baking/parchment paper reduces cracking and also means that you don’t need to flour your surface, which in turn eliminates the possibility of incorporating extra flour into the cookie dough.

Use a 2 inch (5cm) round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Re-roll any scraps to make more cookies until you&#39;ve used up all the cookie dough. You should get about 22 cookies.

Transfer them onto the lined baking sheets and bake them, one baking sheet at a time, at 320ºF (160ºC) for about 20-24 minutes or until evenly golden brown. Tip: The slightly lower oven temperature (compared to the more usual 350ºF/180ºC) works better here, as it gives a more even bake.

Allow to cool on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Set aside until needed.

Gluten free shortbread:

In a saucepan (or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave), heat the double/heavy cream and half of the butter together until hot and all the butter has melted. Set aside until needed, making sure that the mixture stays warm.

In another saucepan, combine the sugar and golden syrup, and cook over medium-high heat with frequent stirring until the mixture reaches 295ºF (145ºC).

Remove from heat, pour in the cream mixture and stir well until combined.

Return to the heat and cook with constant stirring until the mixture reaches 235-240ºF (112-116ºC). Immediately remove from heat and stir in the remaining butter and salt (optional).Tip: In the 235-240ºF (112-116ºC) temperature range, the sugar is in the so-called &#39;softball&#39; stage. This means that once cooled to room temperature, the caramel will be pleasantly chewy, without being too soft or too hard.

Allow the caramel to cool to 120-130ºF (50-55ºC) before assembling the cookies.

Homemade caramel:

Once the caramel has cooled to 120-130ºF (50-55ºC), transfer it into a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle (the nozzle diameter should be about ⅓ inch/8mm).

Pipe the caramel in a spiral going out from the centre of the cookie (see the post for photos). Make sure to leave about 3-4mm of caramel-free space around the edge, as the caramel will spread ever so slightly after piping.

Chill the caramel-topped cookies in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Tip: This sets the caramel even further, which helps when you dip the cookies into the slightly warm chocolate in the next step.

Assembling the caramel cookies:

Dip the slightly chilled caramel-topped cookies into melted chocolate (ideally, use tempered chocolate for the best shine and crisp texture).

After you’ve dipped them into the chocolate, lift them out with a fork and make sure to allow the excess chocolate to drip away – you want a fairly thin, even chocolate layer. To achieve this, I like to use a small offset spatula to gently remove the excess chocolate from the top of the cookie, and then tap the fork on the side of the bowl to shake off the rest.

Place the chocolate-covered cookies on a wire rack (ideally, cover the wire rack with a sheet of cling film, as that makes it easy to remove the cookies after the chocolate has firmed up) and allow the chocolate to set at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. If it’s correctly tempered, you shouldn’t need to refrigerate the cookies.

Chocolate shell:

Use the leftover chocolate to drizzle or pipe a few ‘zig-zag’ lines on top of the set chocolate shell, and then sprinkle them with some flaky sea salt.

Allow the chocolate decoration to set before serving.

Decorating (optional):

The cookies keep well in a closed container in a cool dry place for about 1 week.

Storage:

Kajmak is a traditional Polish Caramel Cream that shines in pies, cakes and other desserts. If you’re familiar with “Dulce de leche”, you’ll know its flavour.

It’s sooo easy to make at home, all you need is a can of evaporated milk, a tall cooking pot and 2 hours of cooking.

Homemade Kajmak: Polish Milk Caramel Cream

(12-16 oz, 354-450 g) sweetened condensed milk, regular (not 'fat-free')

Place the closed can of condensed milk in...

Place the closed can of condensed milk in a tall and narrow cooking pot.

Pour water over the can, enough to cover...

Pour water over the can, enough to cover the tin.  

Cover the pot with a lid. Boil for...

Cover the pot with a lid. Boil for 2 hours, remembering that the can has to be immersed in the water at all times (refill the water if necessary). Warning: don’t leave the house, don’t have a nap during that cooking time - unless you want for the can to explode and cover your kitchen in caramel.

Carefully remove the can from the pot. Leave...

Carefully remove the can from the pot. Leave to cool completely.

Once cooled, use it in cakes and desserts...

Once cooled, use it in cakes and desserts straight away, or store in the refrigerator overnight. For longer storage, freeze it in a freezer-friendly container.

"I've never been able to refuse these bars - that caramel filling floors me every time," says Natalie Paull. This is an edited extract from Beatrix Bakes by Natalie Paull (Hardie Grant Books, $45).

Chocolate caramel bars with a salty sprinkle recipe

plain flour

pure icing sugar, sifted

unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly

sweetened condensed milk

dark muscovado or dark brown sugar

dark corn syrup

vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped

dark (60–70%) chocolate

roasted walnuts

tsp sea salt flakes

This is the ULTIMATE apple dessert pizza. With a pillowy soft crust, tender spiced apples, sweet oat crumble, and a caramel drizzle on top, it's easily one of the best apple desserts you'll ever make.

Caramel Apple Dessert Pizza

tbsp unsalted butter, melted

quick oats

tbsp all purpose flour

light brown sugar, packed

cinnamon

Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced

lemon, squeezed

apple cider

nutmeg

all purpose flour

Fleischmann’s RapidRise® Yeast

tsp salt

tbsp canola or vegetable oil

Mix together all of the ingredients and place in the fridge uncovered. By the time it&#8217;s ready to use, it will be the perfect crumbly consistency.

Oat Crumble

Place the sliced apples in a colander that is nested inside another bowl. Toss the apples in the lemon and 2 tsp of granulated sugar. Let them macerate for 30 minutes while you make the pizza dough.

Apple Topping

In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup of flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.

Mix in the warm water and oil using a wooden spoon. The water should be a warmer than room temperature, but not too hot. 

At this point the dough will be VERY wet. Mix in another cup of flour and it should come together as a very shaggy dough.

Dump the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it for about a minute. Keep dusting the dough and surface with flour to prevent it from sticking. Don&#8217;t use more than 1/4 cup of flour during this process. 

In the end you should be left with a smooth dough. Shape it into a ball and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Pizza Dough

While the dough rests, make the coating for the apples. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt down the butter.

While the butter melts, combine the 2 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp nutmeg in a small bowl. Set aside.

Also dump out any juices that were released from the apples and place the apples back into the bowl, not the colander. 

Once the butter is melted, whisk in the flour for about a minute and then quickly whisk in the apple cider. The mixture will turn into an apple sauce consistency.

Just as the apple cider is mixed in, whisk in the sugar and spice mixture. Vigorously whisk until you reach a smooth consistency. It should look like a cross between a very thick caramel and apple sauce. 

Pour the mixture over the apples and use a rubber spatula to coat. 

After 10 minutes, the dough should have puffed up a very small amount.

Cover a pizza pan in parchment paper and lightly dust with flour. For best results, use a pizza pan with holes on the bottom. 

Place the dough into the center of the parchment and press it down with your fingers. Push the dough out to the edges into a 12-13&#8243; circle. The center should be thinner than the edges. If it&#8217;s giving you a hard time, leave it alone for a couple minutes then go back to it.

Place the apple slices on top in a starburst pattern (see picture above). You may have some apple slices leftover depending on the size of the apples used.

Take the oat crumble out of the fridge and crumble on top. Use as much or as little as you like.

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. The tips of some of the apples might darken around the edges which is perfectly fine.

Pour it into a glass container and place it in the refrigerator uncovered to thicken. 

By this point, the pizza should be done. Let it cool for about 10 minutes and then drizzle on the caramel sauce. 

Slice with a large knife (not a pizza cutter) and enjoy!

Caramel Sauce

These Milk Chocolate Caramel Crunch Bars are like Homemade 100 Grand Bars, but even better! Chewy, homemade, salted caramel is covered crispy milk chocolate. They make a great addition to your holiday candy making plans!

Homemade 100 Grand Bars

Heavy Cream

Unsalted Butter,

Sea Salt

Sugar

Light Corn Syrup

Water

Vanilla Extract

Rice Crispies

Milk Chocolate

Line bottom and sides of an 9-inch square...

Line bottom and sides of an 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. (Related: Kitchen Tip: Lining Pans with Parchment)

Bring cream, butter, and salt to a boil...

Bring cream, butter, and salt to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a...

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 4-quart heavy saucepan.

Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until...

Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel and sugar is dissolved.

Carefully the cream mixture (mixture will bubble up)...

Carefully the cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248°F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes.* (see note below regarding altitude)

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla...

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Let cool slightly while you prepare the chocolate....

Let cool slightly while you prepare the chocolate. It should still be pourable for assembly. If it has cooled too much that it is no longer pourable, then slightly rewarm over low heat.

Top 18 homemade caramel recipes from across the web

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Top 18 homemade caramel recipes from across the web

The most viewed homemade caramel recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

How To Make Caramel

Salted Caramel Sauce

Homemade Salted Caramel Iced Coffee

Easy Caramel Drizzle with Sweetened...

Gluten Free Caramel Cookies (Homema...

Homemade Kajmak: Polish Milk Carame...

Chocolate caramel bars with a salty...

Caramel Apple Dessert Pizza

Homemade 100 Grand Bars

Homemade Cow Tails ( Cow Tal...

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The most viewed homemade caramel recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine