Old Fashioned Caramel Candy Recipe | MasalaHerb.com (2024)

Published: Dec 20, 2019 · Modified: Dec 9, 2022 by Helene Dsouza

Old fashioned hard caramel candy prepared with only 2 ingredients (yep, I'm serious!)

My grandmother used to make these for my dad when he was small, and now I'm sharing it with you.

📕 Recipe Origins

My grandmother in Austria used to make these 2 ingredients caramel hard candy back in the day when my father was a kid.

Most of my dad's family made them for Christmas, and so my dad's cousin was able to retrieve the old-fashioned recipe.

The caramel is made from scratch with only milk and sugar.

This was a candy which they made when the second world war ended in rural Austria, and it was considered a real special treat back then.

The recipe was handed down by a neighbor lady to my folks, hence why it's called caramel from Sammerin (that was the ladies' family name).

🔪 How to make it?

For this particular homemade caramel candy recipe, you will need a large pan and only plain milk and sugar.

Here you can make caramel without a candy thermometer.

The complete recipe with ingredient quantity and step by step instructions with video can be found at the bottom of this post.

Step 1

Place milk and sugar into a pan and heat up.

Stir continuously over a steady heat and bring to a rolling boil.

Step 2

Over time it will reduce but it will take at least 30 to 40 minutes.

At the last stage, the caramel will thicken and turn brown.

Just keep on stirring until you are satisfied with the color and consistency.

Step 3

Pour the thick caramel quickly without wasting time on a buttered parchment-lined sheet pan.

Spread out the caramel.

You need to work fast because caramel thickens quickly the moment it is taken from the heat and you need to be careful because it's super hot.

When the caramel is thick, you get to cut it into desired shapes.

🍱 Storing

My grandmother would shape her caramel into balls and she would simply keep then in a tin box lined with parchment paper.

I do almost the same, just that I cut them into squares to save time.

You can also cut some parchment paper squares or waxed paper and wrap the caramel candies into the paper by twisting the ends.

Another idea is to get candy wrappers but those tend to be made of plastic and that's not very environment-friendly.

The caramel candy can last for up to 2 months in a cool and dry environment, away from direct sunlight.

In a tropical climate, I recommend to keep your old fashioned caramels in an airtight container and you should consume them within weeks.

If you want to extend the shelf life, you can do so by keeping your caramel in the fridge.

📜 Variations

You can enhance your caramels further by adding any of the following ingredients:

• a tablespoon or two of butter - for a richer flavor and smoother consistency. The more you add the chewier they get.
• thick sea salt - for salted caramel
• red chili pepper flakes - for fiery caramel candies
• chopped hazelnut or almond pieces - to add crunch to your hard candy
• vanilla extract

👁️ More Recipes like this

• Candied Almonds
• New Year's Marzipan Pigs
• Key Lime Pie Truffles by infinetaste.com

📖 Recipe