Chewy Salted Caramels Dipped in Dark Chocolate

I’m a sucker for these delicious caramels. In fact, I use the caramel part of this recipe for everything I make with caramel. I use it for caramel popcorn, caramel topping, and of course, plain chewy caramel is always a winner too.

You can vary cooking time to make it as runny or hard as you want. My Grandma Bev always made these caramels for us every Christmas. She made a lot of other Christmas candy too, but I would always hoard the caramels when I went to visit.

When I got married I got the recipe from my Grandma, I’ve made them a MILLION times, and my in-laws call them ‘Jessica’s Caramels’. They’re famous!

This year I thought they’d be extra delicious dipped in dark chocolate with a sprinkle of little Pink Himalayan Salt on top. I’m in trouble for making these now.

The recipe makes a LOT of caramels and I’m pretty sure we’ve all taken care of our sugar fix for a while now! It takes practice to perfect the caramels, but once you follow my tips, you’ll be a pro!

Chewy Salted Caramels Dipped in Dark Chocolate (Printable Recipe)

1 stick of butter

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (after the can is empty, use it as your measuring cup for the remaining ingredients.

1 ‘can’ of white sugar

1 ‘can’ of brown sugar

1 ‘can’ of Karo syrup

Directions:

Start by spraying a large cookie sheet with cooking spray, set aside. Melt butter in a LARGE heavy saucepan, then take-off of the heat while you add sweetened condensed milk, then use the empty milk can to measure your sugars and Karo syrup.

Combine them all in the heavy saucepan, cook over medium heat, STIRRING CONSTANTLY, until the caramel starts to boil. Keep stirring, once it’s boiling, set a timer for 7 minutes (if you don’t have a candy thermometer) and once it’s boiled for about 7 minutes you can start testing it.

If you have a candy thermometer, just get it to the softball stage.  If you don’t have a candy thermometer, here’s how you test it. Get a small cup of ice-cold water and set it near your boiling caramel.

It’s helpful to have someone there to get it for your when you’re ready because you really don’t want to stop stirring Use your spatula or spoon to put a teaspoon full of caramel into the cold water. Let it cool down, then pull it out with your fingers.

If it feels firm, the caramel is ready. If not, keep stirring, and test the caramel the same way every minute or so. When the caramel is done, take it off the heat and allow it to stop boiling. CAREFULLY, pour it into the greased cookie sheet. 

It’s basically molten lava, so please don’t touch it or you’ll regret it! Let it cool completely on the countertop. Don’t try to taste it off the spoon, you’ll hate your life if you do. (These are all things I’ve done in the past, I struggle!)

Okay, now that your caramels are cooled. Cut them into 1 square inch pieces. Now it’s time to get your chocolate ready. 1/2 bag of dark chocolate chips 1 teaspoon vegetable oil Combine dark chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a small bowl.

Microwave the dark chocolate and vegetable oil in 30-second increments, stirring frequently until completely melted. Don’t scorch your chocolate! Once it’s melted, Dip each caramel into the chocolate and set on wax paper.

Before the chocolate hardens, crack a little Pink Himalayan salt on top. Let the chocolate set up before you dig in. (You can pop them in the freezer to speed it up!) OOOOH Yeah!

That’s what I’m talking about! Take most of them to your neighbors or you won’t be able to stop…I speak from experience!