Grandma's Super Easy Caramel Chews

My grandma (Lois Wilbert)  has taught me how to make these through the years. These candies taste like Werther's Hard Caramels. You can also dip apples on a stick into liquid for caramel apples. (There will be a lot!!!) Shout out to Jeanna Livingston for telling me to post this.

Step 1 What You Need

What you will need:

Ingredients:

3 cups of granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup cream
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margerine
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
More butter

Useful Tools:

3 quart pan
Candy thermometer
Cookie sheet with raised edges
Pizza Cutter
Wax paper
Spoon

Comments

[Starleaf]

any way I can leave out the corn syrup?I never have that stuff.

[AussieAnglerGal]

golden syrup works as a substitute :D

[katebetak]

i think you can use honey instead. hopefully it wont be that different! :) hope this helps.

[suayres]

There's a very good reason for the corn syrup: it keeps the sugar in the caramel from crystallizing and ruining your recipe. I don't like using it myself, as my daughter is violently allergic to corn and it's many products. You could try making it without, but it's risky.

[MsMissyG]

You can use Tapioca Syrup ...if you can find it.

[suayres]

I believe you can also use Lyle's Golden Syrup. You can find it at larger grocery stores. What you need is some form of invert sugar.

[bowow0807]

try to make your own it is really easy to make just sugar, water, and cream of tartar just search it up on google "how to make homemade corn syrup"

[eggyeggyeggy]

Or, search it up on INSTRUCTABLES duuuuhhhh ;D

[TT-MON!]

DOH! hahahahaha

[WhyHello]

win!

[katebetak]

hahaha!

[bowow0807]

well i tried that before nothing came up only recipes that say to use cornsyrup so that why i used google next
"if instructibles fails, there is alway google"

[mikeltv1]

What to use as a substitute for corn syrup?

[AussieAnglerGal]

well it depends on where u are, but u can use Golden Syrup
(here in Australia, its HARD to find corn syrup)
or make your own corn syrup (assuming your not allergic to it that is)
to find a recipe (if instructables doesn't have the answer)
google it :D

[sliacco]

Hi! I need your help. I have done this recipe 3 times and I must say that I love how it tastes and how easy it is to make! However, on those 3 separate occasions, I am unable to remove the caramel from the cookie sheet with raised edges. The first time I tried this, I used Crisco because I couldn't find a cooking spray in my area, the second time I used vegetable oil. The third time, I finally found non-stick cooking spray but still, the caramel stuck to the foil. I wrap the cookie sheets with foil and then grease it. Should I try making it without the foil? Should I use parchment paper instead? What am I doing wrong? I need your help! Thanks!

[garrettg]

I am so sorry about the delay! You should use a buttered dish. I would leave off the foil as it can get a little messy. I hope this helps!

- Garrett Mykel Lucas-Groves

[Flying_MashedPotatoes]

what if you dont have a candy thermometer??? can you just Guess the temp by: "well, the caramel is liquidy, that should be enough"

[kschoenfelder]

Use the water test.

You can break down candy by stages

Hard Ball, soft ball, ect. Chewy caramel will be a soft ball. Take a spoonful and drop it into a bowl of water, when it cools you want it to be the way you imagine your caramel chew to be. If it's too liquidy, cook longer. Too hard, you cooked it for too long.

This is how I make my hard candies-I never use a thermometer.

[Flying_MashedPotatoes]

How long does it take to go from softball to hardball? if it's under 10sec, you'd have a hard time, since the event would go like this:

1. *hmm time to test*, picks up sample.
2. Tests....... oh this looks like a good consistency
3.*back at stove* "Time to take it off of the heat"
4. "---Oh no! its already gone to hardball stage!....the 10sec it took to measure was too long and it cooked for too long and now it's ruined D:"

or

1. "looks like a good consistency"
2. Takes off heat...
3. Leaves off the heat, added flavour, and about to pour into tray.
4. "---Oh no!, the Heat of the pot was hot enough to cook the candy for too long and now it's in hardball stage in the middle of adding flavour and pouring it out of the pot D:"

Any tips on gaining a high success rate to get to Medium-ball? ie. gooey but also hard, but not too gooey and not too hard, I'd like a consitency of a Tootsie-Roll, if that is even possible.

Thank you.

[garrettg]

No. Candy making is very precise. There is no guessing what so ever. it isn't like "Well it's boiling so it's close enough." It either is or it isn't.

[Flying_MashedPotatoes]

well, i used a meat thermometer that i had, i guess i didnt boil it long enough because it never solidified after cooling, even when i left it in the freezer over night. but it works well on icecream :D

[lemonie]

Please use a camera, not pictures of other people's stuff.

L

[Flying_MashedPotatoes]

i Made this and i tried a bit before it was hardend... it tasted pretty mild, is there a way to make it a stronger caramel flavour?

[garrettg]

Add more butter! The caramel flavor is just really sugar and butter.

[bduivis]

Could you use maple syrup instead?Because I'm from Amsterdam and my mom got a bottle from a relative from Canada,and since i'm not sure if i can get corn syrup around here, I thought of using that.

[garrettg]

You know I've never tried that. Ive made bbq sauce with it tho.

[bigmama1079]

Finally, a sound caramel recipe that doesn't use sweetened condensed milk. I highly recommend using cheap vanilla extract here though, because the good stuff is usually pure alcohol (or close to it) and will vaporize, along with most of its flavor, the moment it hits the sauce.

[garrettg]

I agree :)

[applesaucemodifier]

I've made these twice now, turned out great both times :)
I just wanted to point out, that patience is indeed important, DON'T CUT UNITL COOLED, you will just end up with a sticky mess.
Thanks for the great recipe

[poppet2]

Are these really chewable, or hard? How would chocolate covering work and what would you use for it?

[garrettg]

Very chewy.

[broomhead]

When I made them the other day they cooled to be very hard (and very delicious) but had to be sucked on instead of chewed. I had a thermometer and cooked them precisely to the hardball stage. What am I doing wrong to get a COMPLETELY different texture. Thanks

[This-one-guy]

Happened to me to because my thermometer said that hard ball was 260 and I got it a Lil bit hotter and the instructions say 250 to 260, this might have happened to you.

[Keira_Yagami]

For one thing is your thermometer a Candy/Deep Fry thermometer or just one you use for meats and things? That does make a difference. Also, make sure your thermometer is correct by boiling some water with the thermometer in the pan and make sure that it starts boiling at 212 degrees F. If not, make sure that you mark it or make a note of it, most of my candy thermometers are off by about 5-6 degrees.

[broomhead]

Yes, it is a candy thermometer and I have just recently checked that it boils at 212 F.
Any other suggestions?

[Keira_Yagami]

Your elevation could have an affect too. I think the higher elevation you are at the longer you have to cook it, same thing also applies to the current humidity.

[broomhead]

I'm in the flatlands of Massachusetts... Perhaps I did something that I did not notice.

[stayputnik]

Candy making is very tricky. Sugar is extremely hydrophilic, so it gobbles up moisture from the air. Making a candy recipe can turn out completely differently depending on weather conditions... if it's raining outside or if you live in the desert, an identical recipe will have very different results.

[Flying_MashedPotatoes]

well, i'm below sea level (seriously, we have a dyke to keep out the water).... is that going to affect the time to cook it?

[garrettg]

We always cook it to 250°F.