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+ servings

Maple Caramels

Buttery homemade maple caramels with rich maple flavor and a soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Made with just a handful of pantry ingredients.
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:40 minutes
cooling:5 hours 20 minutes
Total Time:6 hours 50 minutes

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cups maple syrup
  • cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup light corn syrup
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon maple extract optional

Instructions

  • Prepare the pan. Line an 8x8 baking dish with two pieces of parchment paper, leaving a 1-2 inch overhang. Grease the top layer of paper with butter and set aside.
  • Combine the ingredients. Add the cream, maple syrup, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and salt to a 3-4 quart saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir to moisten the sugar, cooking until the butter has melted, stirring regularly.
  • Bring to a boil. Once the butter has melted, increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring regularly. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and clip the candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
  • Cook to temperature. Continue heating the mixture until the temperature reaches 245°F, about 30-40 minutes, stirring regularly.
  • Add the extract. Remove the caramel from the heat and stir in the maple extract until incorporated — the mixture will bubble slightly. Pour the hot caramel into the prepared pan and cool at room temperature for 2-3 hours.
  • Cut the caramels. Lift the edges of the parchment paper to lift the caramel out of the pan and place on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut the caramel into 8 one-inch-wide strips, then cut each strip into 1-inch segments to make 64 caramels.

Notes

Store caramels in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. Wrap individual caramels in 4x4-inch pieces of wax paper for easy storage.
Cold-Water Test Method: If you don't have a candy thermometer, cook the caramel for 30-35 minutes at a boil, then drop a teaspoon of hot caramel into a bowl of ice water. After 15-20 seconds, pick out the caramel — if it holds its shape as a firm but pliable ball, it's ready. If it flattens or dissolves, keep cooking.
Overcooked Caramel: If the caramel forms brittle shards in the cold water, try stirring in 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream off the heat to salvage it. Otherwise, pour into a 9x13 pan, score into 1-inch squares after 5 minutes, and let cool to make hard maple candy.
Salted butter works, just reduce the added salt to ¼ teaspoon.
Nutrition info is per caramel, asusming you made 64.

Nutrition

Calories: 71kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 22mg | Potassium: 19mg | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 131IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 0.02mg
Servings: 64 caramels
Calories: 71kcal
Author: Katie Shaw