How to fix caramel candy that is too soft?

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. Details on how to use this method can be found here.

What is chewy caramel made of?

Ingredients for homemade caramels - brown sugar, butter, golden syrup, condensed milk . Salt and vanilla go in after the caramel is cooked.

What is the science of chewy caramel?

The water keeps the caramel from setting too firmly, and the milk sugars and proteins contribute to the browning through Maillard reactions . The Maillard reactions are responsible for the browning of many foods including meat, the brown color on a loaf of bread, coffee beans and “caramelized” onions.

What makes caramel soft vs hard?

Heat until the syrup reaches 240 to 245 degrees Fahrenheit. The lower the temperature, the softer the resulting caramels will be .

How do I get my caramel to harden?

Refrigerate until cooled and hardened . (Best if you refrigerate them overnight, or for several hours. They will be easier to cut and wrap). The caramel will seem hard in the fridge after they're set, but they should be soft at room temperature.

Can I use milk instead of heavy cream for caramel?

Sugar, water, salt, and milk are the base ingredients for any caramel. Can I substitute milk for heavy cream in caramel? Absolutely! You can use any milk you have at home, whether whole, non-dairy, or evaporated, to make a deliciously creamy caramel sauce.

How do you Unclump caramel?

Add Moisture : If the sugar is melted but you still see a few crystals- sometimes adding some liquid like water or heavy cream to the mixture can help dissolve any sugar crystals that have formed and promote a smoother texture.

Can you melt soft caramel candy?

To melt caramels using a microwave , open up a bag of soft caramels, unwrap the individual candies, and place them in a microwave-safe dish. Next, add milk to the bowl, or if you'd like a richer treat, add heavy cream instead. Then, place the bowl in the microwave and heat the caramels on HIGH for 1 minute.

Why did my hard candy turn soft?

Why is my hard candy soft and sticky? The simple answer is that there is too much moisture in your candy . One or more factors could be contributing to this problem. In hard candy making, it is important to cook all the water out of the sugar/corn syrup/water mixture.

Soft and Chewy Foolproof Caramel Candy (2024)

By Erin Clarkson on Oct 31, 2023

4.7 from 14 reviews

26 community comments

This post may contain affiliate links.

Jump to Recipe

If you've never made candy at home before - this recipe for easy homemade caramels is the perfect place to start. These caramels are soft and chewy, and finished with the perfect amount of salt. Use them to stuff into a cookie or a brownie, or wrap to give as homemade gifts. This post is packed full of tips and tricks to walk you through making your own homemade caramel candies.

Soft and Chewy Foolproof Caramel Candy (1)

Hi hi! I am just popping in to share this easy homemade caramel recipe with you! If you haven't made homemade candy before, these easy caramels are a great place to start.

These caramels are soft and chewy, and are perfect as-is, or you can use them in baking - I use them to stuff inside my caramel stuffed chocolate cookies, or to dot over brownie batter for the most amazing caramel brownies.

Homemade caramel lasts super well, so they are great to make ahead and keep in the fridge, or to wrap in wax paper for a more traditional caramel candy and give as gifts.

Soft and Chewy Foolproof Caramel Candy (2)

Homemade Caramels

These caramels are super soft and chewy. I have used this base recipe a ton of times but never actually made it into a stand alone recipe.

This recipe makes a soft caramel as opposed to a hard caramel like the one that I use in my salted caramel cookies which is made from using melted sugar. The softness comes from the ratios of ingredients - condensed milk and butter help to soften the mix to give perfectly chewy, delicious caramels.

Ingredients in homemade caramels

The ingredients list for these caramels is super simple, and likely things that you already have at home:

Butter. You can use either salted or unsalted here depending on what you have on hand. If you use salted, you can either drop back the salt quantity in the recipe slightly or leave as is - salty caramel is delicious.
Condensed milk. Condensed milk gives texture to the caramel - it helps to make it super smooth and keep the chew when it reaches a high temperature.
Brown sugar. We are going for as many toasty flavours as we can here, which is why I use brown sugar instead of white for my homemade caramels.
Golden Syrup. This is one of my favourite ingredients because of how delicious it is and the amazing flavour it gives to things. It's very easy to get in New Zealand and some other countries, when I lived in the US I used to get it online. It helps to stop crystallisation in the caramel.
Salt. Essential to offset all the sugary components of the caramel. Make sure you salt well and if you find the caramels are not as salty as you like you can sprinkle them with a little flaky sea salt after cutting.
Vanilla. I like to use vanilla bean paste but vanilla extract works well too. It adds the most amazing flavour to the caramels.

What is golden syrup?

Golden syrup is an invert sugar syrup that is a by-product of the sugar making process. It is thick and smooth, and has a delicious toasty flavour. I highly recommend getting some to use if you haven't before, but if you can't get hold of some, you can use corn syrup or liquid glucose in the place of it.

If you do get golden syrup and you are looking for ways to use it up, I have a whole lot of golden syrup recipes for you to browse!

Soft and Chewy Foolproof Caramel Candy (3)

Do I need to use a Thermometer?

Yes - a thermometer is essential when you are making homemade caramel candies. I use a digital thermometer (I have a thermapen but there are loads of others available online!) which I find works best as it gives a super quick result. Cooking the caramel either under or over the correct temperature will result in it either not setting enough, or being too hard, so using a thermometer to ensure that you get the right result is necessary.

If you don't have a thermometer, I haven't tested any other alternatives sorry. They are a great thing to own!

Important - when you are measuring the temperature of your cooking caramel - make sure that the probe of the thermometer is in the middle of the caramel. If it is accidentally touching the bottom of the pot, it will give a falsely high reading and your caramel may not set.

How do you store caramels?

The great thing about making homemade caramel is that it stores super well for a long time. Keep it in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to a month. If I am not wrapping it in wax paper I store it with pieces of wax paper between each layer to prevent sticking.

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Soft and Chewy Foolproof Caramel Candy (5)

What is the best way to wrap caramels?

If you want to wrap your homemade caramels in the traditional candy style, you can use squares of wax paper. I purchased mine pre-cut, but you can also just cut squares of paper if you like. Mine are 6" squares, but play around with sizing depending on what you think looks best.

How to get clean cuts on caramel

I cut my caramel into little pieces - I did an 8x4 grid in the pan. 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. I find it easiest to cut the whole pan into strips first with vertical cuts, then make the four horizontal cuts.

Soft and Chewy Foolproof Caramel Candy (6)

Homemade Caramels Troubleshooting

Your caramel is too hard

It is likely that you took the mixture past the 240° / 120°c stage, which is called the firm ball stage in candy making. You want to make sure that you very carefully measure the temperature of your caramel when you are cooking it. This is still usable although it will be more like a toffee texture than a caramel - cut it into tiny bits and add to cookies or ice cream.

Your caramel is too soft

The opposite happened here and you didn't bring it to temperature. Read the notes on the recipe to make sure you are using your thermometer correctly.

You are starting to get little brown bits in the caramel as it cooks

This is ok - it is just little bits of the caramel that are cooking faster than the rest. Turn the heat down and take it slow if you need to - slide the pan off the heat and stir well and make sure you're scraping the bottom well. I like to use a rubber spatula for this reason.

My Caramel is taking FOREVER to reach temperature

This happens. The caramel will get to a certain point, then it feels like it takes forever to get to temperature. Just be patient here - it is really important that you take it up to the correct temperature in order for it to set.

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Soft and Chewy Foolproof Caramel Candy (8)

Frequently Asked Questions

What tools and equipment do you use?
You can find a full list of the tools and equipment I use on my products page

Which pan did you use?

I set these in an 8" square pan, with parchment extending over the sides to make sure that I could easily remove the caramel once set.

Can this recipe be doubled?

Yes, but make sure that you watch it carefully. As the caramel is cooking if you feel like it is going too fast, move it off the heat for a bit. Make sure you use a thermometer and watch carefully. You can either set the mixture in two 8" pans or use the pan size of your choice - just be aware that if you use a different pan your caramels may be a different thickness.

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Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

baking in grams
adjusting oven temperatures
what kind of salt to use
and many more!

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!