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Chocolate Caramels

My grandma’s Chocolate Caramels recipe is a longtime family tradition. These homemade caramels are rich and buttery, perfectly soft and chewy, and infused with chocolate – my favorite caramels in all the world!

Freshly made, sliced chocolate caramels on a piece of wax paper.

This rich and buttery Chocolate Caramels recipe is a Christmastime tradition from my grandma’s recipe box. The homemade caramels are decadent, creamy-chewy, and infused with chocolate – one of my favorite holiday treats. They’re beautiful for gifting and always quick to disappear on treat platters, just like my Graham Cracker Toffee and Chocolate Turtles!

Why I ❤️ These Chocolate Caramels

This recipe is filled with nostalgia for me. I remember Grandma Klein in her tiny kitchen on Christmas day, apron tied around her waist. Bustling to prepare Christmas dinner with my mom and aunts, it was a festive, chatty, boisterous-with-laughter (noisy!) affair that was SO GOOD. And chocolate caramels were Grandma’s specialty, the #1 thing I looked forward to eating that day! Here’s why I just have to continue her tradition:

  • Simple. It always amazes me how a simple pot of butter, cream, sugar, and chocolate can create such an incredible treat.
  • Better than store-bought. This recipe ruined me for the rest of my life. For me, no other caramels compare to my grandma’s caramels. These are just the BEST.
  • Great for gifting. Wrap them up pretty in bags or boxes for the sweetest holiday gifts.

“These have become a favorite for our family. My grandkids asked me if I could make some and send them to them (600 miles away) so I got some festive foil wrappers and will be sending them soon. Your Grandma is/was awesome!”

Nancy
Labeled ingredients for making chocolate caramels.

What You’ll Need

This recipe’s ingredients list is a short one! Scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact amounts.

  • Butter – I always use unsalted butter.
  • Cream – Heavy cream gives the caramels luscious flavor and creamy texture.
  • Corn syrup – This adds sweetness and chewy texture.
  • Granulated sugar – Light brown or dark brown sugar works too.
  • Unsweetened chocolate baking bar – You can also use chocolate chips.
  • Vanilla – For the best flavor, use pure vanilla extract.

How to Make This Chocolate Caramels Recipe

Grab a kitchen thermometer, to ensure your caramels come out perfectly. Scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe card.

  • Prep. Generously grease a 9″x13″ pan with butter and set it aside. Line it with parchment paper if you want to be able to pull out the slab of caramel for slicing.
  • Cook the chocolate caramel mixture. Mix the butter, heavy cream, corn syrup, sugar, and chocolate in a pot over medium-high heat, and stir continuously. Clip a candy thermometer to the pot – when it reaches 240°F, immediately remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract.
  • Let set. Pour the chocolate caramel mixture into the prepared pan. Set it aside to cool completely before slicing.
Landscape photo of chocolate caramels.

Tips & VariationS

  • Stir nearly constantly. Do not walk away from the pot on the stovetop. You’ll want to stir the chocolate caramel mixture gently, and quite constantly, the whole while.
  • Use a candy/kitchen thermometer. Definitely use a thermometer to gauge the temperature. If the mixture is not heated enough, it will have a soft set and not keep its shape. If heated too much, it will be too hard.
  • Want super clean cuts? If you want really clean cuts, line your pan with parchment paper first. Then just pull the whole slab of caramel out of the pan, set it on a cutting board, and cut with a long, sharp, non-serrated knife. Wipe the knife clean between cuts for the cleanest cuts. If the caramel has been in the refrigerator and is hard to cut, let it sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes first.
  • Make different sized pieces. I like to cut these into 0.75″ x 1.75″ pieces (as shown in my photos) or 1″ x 1″ squares.
  • Add nuts. For Christmas each year, my grandma always made one pan with nuts, one pan without. If you’d like to add nuts, stir in 1½ cups chopped roasted & salted nuts after you stir in the vanilla.
  • Add salt flakes. Let the chocolate caramel cool slightly in the pan. While it’s still a bit soft, sprinkle some sea salt flakes, such as Maldon brand, over the top. Then let cool completely.
A glass jar full of individually-wrapped caramels.
Grabbing a homemade caramel from the jar of wrapped candies.

Packaging Them For Gift Giving

These chocolate caramels make the best homemade gifts. Just cut them into your desired size and wrap the pieces in wax paper, twisting the ends to make it look like a candy wrapper. Add them to small gift bags or boxes, and tie on a bow. Such a special, delicious gift!

How to Store Homemade Candy

The caramels are fine to sit out on treat trays during gatherings, but for longer term storage, keep the caramels in the fridge or freezer.

  • Fridge: Store them in an airtight container for up to 1 month – either individually wrapped or still in the pan with a tight fitting lid.
  • Freezer: Wrap each caramel in wax paper and then transfer to a freezer bag, or wrap the entire pan in 2 layers of heavy duty foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Set on the counter for 20-30 minutes to thaw.

Chocolate Caramels

Yield: 48
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 25 minutes
total time: 35 minutes
My grandma’s Chocolate Caramels recipe is a longtime family tradition. These homemade caramels are rich and buttery, perfectly soft and chewy, and infused with chocolate – my favorite caramels in all the world!
4.5 Stars (85 Reviews)
Print

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, plus more for buttering the pan
  • cups heavy cream
  • cups corn syrup
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate baking bar, roughly chopped
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • cups chopped roasted & salted nuts, optional

Instructions

  • Generously butter a 9" x 13" pan and set aside.
  • In a heavy-bottomed, medium-sized saucepan over medium to medium-high heat, stir together butter, cream, corn syrup, sugar, and chocolate. Once everything is melted together, add a candy/kitchen thermometer to the saucepan to gauge the temperature – this is very important. Stir gently, and quite constantly, with a spatula or wooden spoon until mixture just reaches 240°F, and then quickly pull saucepan from heat.
  • With saucepan off the heat, stir in the vanilla. If adding nuts, stir them in now. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Let cool to room temperature.
  • Use a long, sharp, non-serrated knife to cut the caramel into pieces, wiping the knife clean in between cuts for the cleanest cuts. I like to cut into 0.75" x 1.75" pieces (as shown in my photos) or 1" x 1" squares, but you can make them any size you like.

Notes

From Grandma Klein’s recipe box, originally from her dad’s (my Great Grandpa Braun’s) sister, Victoria Sand.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1 Calories: 78kcal Carbohydrates: 9g Protein: 1g Fat: 5g Saturated Fat: 2g Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 9mg Sodium: 12mg Sugar: 8g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment below. And share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #afarmgirlsdabbles or tag @farmgirlsdabble!

This post was originally published in 2017, then updated in 2024.

Where This Recipe Comes From

Christmas memories, 1974
Grandma Klein with some of her grandchildren…that’s me, bottom left!

For so many people, including myself, these caramels could be considered my grandma’s food legacy, the single recipe that we’ll always remember her by.

Each Christmas day, Grandma Klein would offer two pans of her homemade chocolate caramels. One pan with nuts, one pan without. I always went for the no-nuts, but if that pan was emptied I had no problem moving on to the one with nuts!

I smile to think about past Christmas memories:

  • Playing at Grandma Klein’s house on Christmas day. Her little house at the end of the street was filled to the brim with cousins, plus Grandma, Mom, and many aunts bustling away in the kitchen, preparing the feast. Their happy chatter and laughter could rival my boombox any day!
  • Singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Jesus at our small town church’s Christmas program, in the same angel costume I had worn the previous year. And the year before that. AND the year before that!
  • Visiting Grandpa and Grandma Renelt at their winter Florida home, celebrating with a decorated Christmas palm tree instead of our usual evergreen.
  • Slurping Grandma Renelt’s heavenly Oyster Stew on Christmas Eve.
  • Making Christmas goodies with Mom and my sisters, including Homemade Peanut Butter Cups, Peanut Butter Truffles, and Marshmallow Caramel Rice Krispie Puffs!
  • Making homemade ice cream, taking turns cranking the pail by hand. And taking that first spoonful…yum!
  • Waking up on Christmas morning to Mom’s magnificently tender Caramel Rolls.
  • Indulging in just one more of Aunt June’s Cream Wafer Cookies or one more piece of Aunt Donna’s Cranberry Cake. (Yes, I have LOTS of fond food memories!)
  • Listening to Grandpa Renelt or my dad read the Christmas story from the Bible on Christmas Eve, the room reverently silent.
  • Looking out across the farm, at the lit star that Dad hung from the northward pointing peak of the barn, imagining that one bright star so many years ago…
light-up star on a white barn

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38 comments on “Chocolate Caramels”

  1. 5 stars
    These have become a favorite for our family.  My grandkids asked me if I could make some and send them to them (600 miles away) so I got some festive foil wrappers and will be sending them soon.  Your Grandma is/was awesome!

  2. I always cut my caramels with a pizza cutter. It’s super quick & easy plus it doesn’t stick either
    I love the recipe..no nuts!! I can’t fathom nuts in my caramels. These will be perfect in my baskets for Christmas for the ones who would rather have chocolate than the regular caramels. I love BOTH …

  3. I just found your website and your recipes look amazing. I am wanting to give this one a try ASAP, but I have a question. Do you think a pizza cutter would work to cut the pieces?
    Thanks for the recipes!

  4. 5 stars
    Tried these for the first time and got distracted and forgot the sugar….and vanilla….and they still turned out perfect. I tried a new batch with the sugar and they were good but not as good as without. Either way, easy recipe and excellent caramels.