These buttery, soft and chewy caramel candies, infused with hint of cardamom, are so delightfully addicting!! Step-by-step photos and lots of tips included.
My goodness, I’m so excited to share this recipe for homemade caramels with you. Finally!
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, we can fully concentrate on all things Christmas, right? I’ve worked on this caramel recipe a while back. Oh, around late September into October, I think? You see, in preparation for my baby (due in Jan!!), I’ve been working pretty much non-stop to get ahead of myself to continue to share new recipes with you even after the baby. We’ll see how it’ll work out, but I already have some pretty awesome recipes lined up for you for Valentine’s day!
Ok, back to Christmas…
These soft and chewy cardamom caramel bites need to happen this season! You need this in your life. They’re so, so good. My in-laws have been raving about these caramels ever since they tried them. I think they might have been hinting they want more, but instead I’m bringing them Valentine’s desserts. Haha
HOW TO MAKE CARAMEL CANDIES
If you’ve never made caramels, or you are intimidated to try your hands at this sticky candy-making business, rest assured you’ll do fine. We are just boiling some butter, sugar, cream and corn syrup after all! Just kidding, not that simple, but almost.
I find combining all the ingredients and cooking everything together is the simplest method of all. The secret to success is a candy thermometer. I’m still using Garrat’s grandma’s old candy thermometer, which I should probably replace it soon, but it works. Anyway, new or old, you do need a candy thermometer.
Once the mixture comes to a boil, we’ll be cooking it until it reaches 250°F (120°C) and the color becomes dark golden. Sure, you can test mixture by dropping a small amount in cold water etc, but it makes the process that much more complicated, and the mixture can go from perfect to ruined in matter of seconds.
TIPS TO MAKE PERFECT CARAMELS:
- Use a candy thermometer for above mentioned reasons.
- Don’t forget to butter the foil (or parchment or wax paper) before you pour the caramel. I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t butter a wax paper once and had to throw out one of the test batches.
WHAT IS CARDAMOM?
Cardamom is often overlooked, yet absolutely amazing spice that we all should use more of. The delicate floral flavor of cardamom is infused in these soft caramel bites, making it even more irresistible! I’ve talked about my cardamom obsession in this orange cardamom truffles recipe post.
If you ask me what’s my least favorite part of making caramels, I’d say wrapping the little suckers. Or should I say cutting perfect squares out of wax paper? Well, guess what? I just came across these pre-cut caramel wrappers on amazon.com and ordered one. Candy-wrapping got a whole lot easier!!
So here’s a question for you. Are YOU going to make these? Or are you going to make these?

Cardamom Caramel Candy
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons 55gr unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
- 1 cup 200gr sugar
- 1 ½ cup 360ml heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup 120ml light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom*
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Line 8-inch (20cm) square baking pan with an aluminum foil and generously butter the bottom and sides.
- In a large heavy saucepan, combine all the ingredients and cook over medium heat until boiling, stirring occasionally. Continue to boil the mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 250°F (120°C) on candy thermometer, for 15-20 minutes.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Cool completely, about 2 hours.
- Cut the cooled caramel into small pieces and wrap in wax paper. Store the candies in airtight container.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Facts:
This post was originally published on November 30th, 2015, and last updated on December 8th, 2019.
Andrea says
Hi! Â You put an * next to the cardamom in the recipe. Â Was that supposed to reference a note? Â I LOVE cardamom and the idea of putting it in caramels sounds amazing. Â Just wanted to make sure I was getting all the info. Â Thx!
Shinee says
Hi, Andrea. Thanks for pointing it out. Yes, I was planning to add a note on how to prepare the cardamom, but it got disappeared. I just updated the recipe with a note now. Hope that helps.
Oyunomin says
Sain uu, cardamomiig yugaar orluulbal zugeer ve
Shinee says
Sain, sain bn uu? Cardamom amtlagchiig orluulah zuil bhgui, hervee cardamomnii amt chuhal bish zugeer engiin iris hiie gevel teriig hasaad hiij bolno.
Karly says
This caramel looks amazing! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Shinee says
Thanks, Karly!
Lou Lou Girls says
Hello cute lady! I’m stopping by to let you know that your amazing caramel bites will be featured at our party that starts on Monday @7. Woo Hoo! Pinned and tweeted. We love partying with you and hope to see you on Monday! Happy Holidays! Lou Lou Girls
Shinee says
Yay, that sounds awesome! Thanks so much for the feature!
Shantel says
Yummy! This looks easy and so, so good!
Shinee says
Yes, they’re so goooood, Shantel! Hope you try them.
Kati says
Another amazing cardamom recipe that I must try 🙂 Thanks!
Shinee says
Thanks, Kati!
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
Cardamom caramel sounds amazing! This looks fabulous 🙂
Shinee says
Thank you, Medha!!
nicole (thespicetrain.com) says
Yup, you’ve convinced me, I am going to make these. I love the cardamom in these little cuties, what a great idea!
Shinee says
Thanks, Nicole. I thought you’d love this one. I know you like cardamom. 😉 Let me know how they turn out for you, if you make them.