What would the holiday season be without homemade caramels, I ask you? Caramels happened to make an appearance during last year’s Sugar Rush. My mom’s famous caramels to be exact. But this year I wanted to try a chocolate version – little did I know it would be as easy as adding chocolate to the initial caramel mixture. I went with a different recipe this year and wow. Wow. WOW!
These were beyond delicious. The soft chocolate-infused caramel about sent me into chocolate-caramel heaven. Seriously, these caramels are beyond divine. The addition of creamy, dreamy chocolate morphs these caramels into a chewy, fudge-like consistency. Definitely caramelly but still deepened to a rich, decadent consistency the likes I’ve never seen.
Be sure to check out the Candy Thermometer page for information on calibrating and using a candy thermometer and see below the recipe for step-by-step pictures on the chocolate caramels.
Click on the Sugar Rush button to the right to see all the Sugar Rush recipes so far!
One Year Ago: Caramel Shortbread Cookies
Two Years Ago: Holiday Morning Buns
Note: for regular caramels, simply omit the chocolate and proceed with the recipe. Also, if you prefer using unsalted butter, increase the salt amount to 1 teaspoon.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) water
- 2 cups (1 pound) sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup (12 ounces) light corn syrup
- 1 1/2 sticks butter
- 1 cup (6 ounces) dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
- Lightly butter a 9X13-inch pan and set aside.
- In a heavy-bottomed 4-quart saucepan, combine the water, sugar, vanilla, condensed milk, corn syrup, butter and chocolate. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heat-resistant rubber spatula. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, ensuring that the tip of the thermometer isn’t touching the bottom of the pan and is inserted at least 1-2 inches into the liquid (or according to your thermometer’s directions).
- Continue stirring while the mixture boils and cooks, until the caramels reach 245 degrees F. If the caramels seem to be scorching on the bottom of the pan, moderate the heat to a lower temperature. You can also test the caramels using a spoon and dropping a pea-sized amount of the hot caramel into cold water. If the cooled piece of caramel is firm but not hard, the caramel is properly cooked.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the salt. Pour the caramels into the prepared pan and allow to cool completely to room temperature, at least 2 hours.
- When cool, remove the sheet of caramels from the pan. Cut the caramels into pieces using a large knife or bench scraper.
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Chocolate and Confections by The Culinary Institute of America
Combine all of the ingredients but the salt in a large pot. Caramels tend to foam and bubble so use a larger pot to accommodate boiling over.
Cook the mixture and stir as it dissolves.
Almost there.
There we go. Nice and dissolved.
Continue cooking until the mixture comes to a boil. Clip your candy thermometer onto the side of the pot.
Stir constantly while the mixture cooks.
You can see how as the cooking process goes on, the bubbles get smaller and closer together. 
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the salt.
Pour the caramels into the buttered pan. It’s going to be hot, baby, so be careful!
Let the caramels harden at room temperature for at least 2 hours. It may take longer for them to cool enough to cut so just judge according to your kitchen temp, etc.
Cut the caramels into strips.
Then into little squares.
Then place the caramel on small squares of wax paper…
Twist the ends and you’re done! Oh, wait, except for the other 100 caramels you have to wrap. It’s worth it, trust me!
These look too good NOT to try!
your first photo for this post is terrific!
You’re killing me! How am I ever supposed to find the time to try all this deliciousness?? Oh, wait, I’m pretty sure I’ll stay up until 3 a.m. if necessary to make these bad boys! Thank you – they look beyond yummy!
They’re so cute! I’ve never made caramels before, but you’re making me want to try them! They’d make great gifts!
I am excited to try these this year – what a great spin on caramels. What chocolate did you use for this?
Ohhh, I am not sure if I should amke these. I don’t think my self control would be good enough. They look so good.
Tarryn – I used Ghirardelli’s bittersweet chocolate.
What a fabulous idea to add chocolate to caramels! You are brilliant, Melanie!
Can you use chocolate chips? And do they have to be bittersweet? Would semi sweet or milk chocolate work equally as well? I’ve always been intimidated by candy making, but this recipe is making me change my mind.
Wow, I make caramel every year, but have never thought to try chocolate. I usually let brownies or fudge handle my chocolate cravings. You’ve made these sound too delicious not to try. Drool!
Like a tootsie roll!
Made them this afternoon, turned out perfect. Very Yummy, but does not satisfy my craving for caramel, need to make a separate batch of that. Don’t have a cany thermometer, just went the old fashioned way with a cup of cold water to test out. Mine boiled for about 15 minutes before I got to the consistency I needed. Checked after 10 minutes and every so often after that.
You win. This tastes better than any other caramel I’ve ever made. Frankly, I feel a little ashamed that I never thought to add chocolate to my soft caramels before. Vanilla bean, check. rum extract, check. Chocolate, ____. It seems so obvious in retrospect; like the ending of 6th Sense. “Whoa, he was dead the whole time.” “Whoa, caramel was meant to have chocolate mixed in.”
Lisa – glad you liked these and kudos to you for going the old-fashioned way to test the caramel (thanks for including your timing). The chocolate in these definitely changes the caramel factor a bit…
Jenny – I would highly recommend using a chocolate bar, finely chopped, instead of chocolate chips. Chocolate chips have different melting properties based on the fact that they have less cocoa butter to help them keep their shape. I can’t guarantee how the texture would turn out with chocolate chips. I would recommend either bittersweet or semisweet – I think the milk chocolate flavor wouldn’t shine as well as the darker chocolate. I hope that helps – let me know if you have any other questions!
riesen chocolate chews are perhaps my favorite candy, and these are so similar, i can’t NOT try them.
I can’t wait to make this. Looks so good!!
Hi, just wanted to say that I made the plain caramels yesterday and they were really, really good, and it was my first time making caramels ever. Plan on making a half batch of the chocolate caramels today. Thanks for the recipe!
Katie o – so glad that your first try at caramels worked out so well! Hope you like the chocolate ones, also!
Thanks so much for all your yummy recipes! I just made these chocolate caramels and am waiting for them to cool to see how they turned out. It’s my first time making candy. What do you think about using unsweetened chocolate, you know that baking chocolate that is in 1 oz. squares? There’s already a lot of sugar in the other ingredients.
WOW! I just made these and they are fabulous. I was bummed last night because I spent 2 hours making caramels that scorched and tasted gross. Making these chocolate caramels has renewed my confidence! I am off to try your caramel recipe…
YUM! I made these yesterday (I am eating one as I speak!) I used Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate chips because that was all I had and I HAD TO MAKE THEM NOW!
I am a little impatient! Anyway, the chocolate chips worked great. I just added them to the pot when it started to simmer. Once it hit the boiling point it took 14 minutes with the water test to work. Thanks SO much!
Kim – thanks for including your changes! I love it when readers do that. So glad you loved them!
Tarryn – glad you loved these caramels. Super huge bummer on the scorched caramels – I HATE it when that happens!
LeAnne – unsweetened chocolate would probably not work very well in this recipe. Although they do have a fair amount of sugar, I think the unsweetened chocolate would add too much bitterness.
I made these a few days before Christmas and they are so good. I love them, a little too much actually. It took me forever to wrap them all up though. It’s good to have some help if you can!
Jenny – glad you loved these caramels!
made a DOUBLE batch for friends and neighbors. Ok, I wrapped about 200 caramels and have had countless raves. They turned out SO WELL! thank you for this recipe. The pictures were so helpful and made it much easier to get it right. I had never made this before and took it on because of how well you explained everything. Big success story here!!
Wowza! These were awesome!! We made them this weekend, one chocolate batch and one regular batch. We couldn’t stop eating them, but had to be because we were giving them away as gifts. I followed your instructions exactly, they were so helpful to this first time candy maker. We will be making these again, they really were easy, despite all of the stirring and watching it. Thanks for another great, fail-proof recipe!
Sorry, this chocolate caramel recipe didn’t work for me. I have never cooked chocolate for so long on a stovetop. I ended up with more of a fudgy-type thing and not a caramel. The basic recipe is GREAT, but I wouldn’t add chocolate to this. In my opinion the chocolate should be added at 190-200 degrees F not at the beginning. Chocolate scorches too easily.
Will try Martha Stewart’s recipe for chocolate caramels.
Sorry.
I made them with Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate and they came out amazing. Everyone I know that I gave them to is hooked on them. For a different batch, I only had 1 stick of butter in the house instead of the required 1 1/2 sticks… and honestly it tasted the same and seemed to have the same consistency. So I’ll probably just use 1 stick from now on and tell myself I’m being “healthy”. Ha.
I took me several batches before I got the right consistency when they hardened. You really need to watch that 245 degrees very carefully. If you go under, your caramels will be too soft and mushy. If you go over 245 they will become uncomfortably hard and you will have to soften each piece in the microwave before you eat it.
I’m still trying to find the most aesthetic way to wrap them. Clear cellophane from the baking store won’t stay closed, and I may have to use some kind of tape. Ordinary parchment paper seems to stay closed but doesn’t look terribly inviting. Open to ideas!
These were awfully sweet, good if you like Brach’s Candy. I prefer the taste of caramels made w/o condensed milk, but I can’t get those to set up properly, b/c they won’t heat above 245 no matter how high I turn my stove. (Your recipe set up fine.) I am trying for the taste of the long-ago Kraft Fudgies…and Kraft has taken the chocolate caramels recipe off its site. Dang it!
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I just made these today. Followed the directions to calibrate my thermometer and everything. They stuck in my pan while cooling and are hard as a brick! What did I do wrong? I’ve never made caramels before and was so proud of myself… Until I went to cut them and wrap them and they were one solid mound. Any help will be appreciated.
Hi Emily – that’s frustrating about your caramels. Hm, makes me think somehow they were cooked too long. Usually if caramels are undercooked they are soft and gooey. Overcooked and they are really hard and impossible to cut sometimes. Is it possible that your pan is too thin on the bottom instead of being a heavy-bottomed saucepan good for candy making? That could make a difference in the outcome, too.