Are you looking for the perfect, melt-in-your-mouth, sweet edible treat to take you to that special place of relaxation and happiness? Discover how to make your very own delicious, cannabis infused caramels at home with either cannabutter, cannabis sugar, or both for a sweet treat that makes it easy to enjoy your cannabis at home or on the go.
Table of Contents
- Recipe Features
- Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Chewy Homemade Cannabis Caramels Recipe
- Important: Before Getting Started
- What You Will Need
- Step-by-Step Instructions
- Get Perfect Dosing
- Storage Instructions
- Alternate Infusion Options
- Notes and Expert Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Cannabis Recipes You Will Love
Recipe Features
- A simple recipe with step-by-step instructions
- Tips and tricks for making this recipe perfectly
- Want to make it easy? Order my pre-made Bliss Caramels and have them delivered straight to your door – now shipping across the United States!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
My Well With Cannabis members requested this recipe, and I am proud to deliver it!
These delicious melt-in-your-mouth cannabis caramels rank right up there with my brownies and chocolate chip cookies.
Perfect for a simple sweet treat that can be enjoyed at home or on the go, you can easily individually wrap these caramels for perfect portioning and easy portability.
Below I will go over all the important things you must do before preparing this recipe, including how to use my printable dosage chart if you use my Bliss Cannabutter.
Chewy Homemade Cannabis Caramels
Ingredients
- 1 cup Bliss cannabutter
- 4 cups white, granulated sugar or cannabis sugar
- 2 cups light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt optional
- 24 ounces evaporated milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt optional for topping
Instructions
- Prepare a 9×9-sized baking pan by lining it with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add the cannabutter, sugar, corn syrup, and kosher salt to a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and stir well. Heat until the mixture begins to boil, about 7-8 minutes.
- Slowly and gradually add the evaporated milk, ensuring the mixture stays at a constant boil. This can take upwards of 10-15 minutes per can of milk.
- Add a candy thermometer to the pan and secure it to the side. Constantly stir until the mixture reaches 245° F.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour the caramel into your prepped pan and top with sea salt if using.
- Refrigerate the caramels for a few hours, overnight is ideal.
- Once the caramels are cool and set, cut the caramel into bite-sized pieces and wrap it individually in wax paper if desired.
Notes
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Nutrition
Important: Before Getting Started
Choosing the right kitchen items will help make this recipe process go much more smoothly.
The most important thing is to use a large enough saucepan.
As the caramel boils, it will boil up the sides of the pan. If you use a pan that is too small, you will end up with a sticky mess all over your stove.
You can avoid this mess and frustration by starting with a large enough saucepan in the first place.
For this recipe, I recommend a 6-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan.
It is also essential to use a thermometer to track the temperature of this recipe.
I recommend a candy thermometer that can attach to the side of your saucepan for a hands-free way to monitor the temperature easily.
Be sure to calibrate the thermometer before getting started to ensure accurate readings throughout the process.
Helpful Equipment:
What You Will Need
- 1 cup cannabutter: Bliss cannabutter ensures perfect dosing
- 4 cups sugar: you can use granulated white sugar or cannabis sugar
- 2 cups light corn syrup: this ingredient is needed for this recipe; I do not have a good substitute recommendation at this time
- ½ teaspoon salt: regular table salt goes into the recipe, and you can also add sea salt as a topping if desired
- 24 ounces evaporated milk: this ingredient is needed for this recipe; I do not have a good substitute recommendation at this time
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract: for flavor
Note: The recipe card below contains a complete list of ingredients with amounts and printable instructions.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1 – Prepare a 9×9-sized baking pan by lining it with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Step 2 – Add the cannabutter, sugar, corn syrup, and salt to a 6-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and stir well. Heat until the mixture begins to boil, about 7-8 minutes.
- Step 3 – Slowly and gradually add the evaporated milk, ensuring the mixture stays at a constant boil. This can take upwards of 10-15 minutes per can of milk.
- Step 4 – Add a candy thermometer to the pan and secure it to the side. Constantly stir until the mixture reaches 245° F. This is very important; if you do not reach this temperature, the candies will not set.
- Step 5 – Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Step 6 – Pour the caramel into your prepped pan and top with sea salt if using.
- Step 7 – Refrigerate the caramels for a few hours; overnight is ideal.
- Step 8 – Once the caramels are cool and set, cut the caramel into bite-sized pieces and wrap it individually in wax paper if desired.
Note: complete step-by-step printable instructions are located in the recipe card below.
Get Perfect Dosing
Dosing this recipe couldn’t be easier if you use my Bliss Cannabutter.
You can use the printable chart below to determine the exact amount of butter to use to get your desired THC milligrams per batch or candy.
If you are not using Bliss Cannabutter, my edible dosage calculator is another great way to determine your caramel’s final potency.
If you are unsure where to start, check out my safe dosing guide before getting started.
Storage Instructions
You can store these caramels at room temperature for a few days, but storing them in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks is best.
You can also store these in the freezer for several months. Learn more about how to store cannabis edibles here.
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Alternate Infusion Options
As with all things edibles, there is more than one way to infuse something.
Below we will explore all the different ways you could infuse this recipe.
Cannabutter
Cannabutter is one of the most common cannabis-infused staple recipes.
If you don’t purchase Bliss cannabutter from me, you’re going to want to make sure you prepare your own before diving into this recipe.
You can make many cannabutter at home, including in a crockpot or Instant Pot, CBD cannabutter, or kief cannabutter.
Cannabis Sugar
Cannabis sugar is a delicious, versatile recipe made using white sugar and a cannabis tincture.
It can be made with either a traditional Green Dragon or a Golden Dragon QWET tincture.
You will need to have your cannabis sugar prepared ahead of time for this recipe. If you’ve never made it before, follow my complete guide to making cannabis sugar here.
Cannabis Concentrates
If you are an experienced cannabis consumer with a high tolerance, you may want to make your caramels with concentrates or FECO for a more potent end product.
When using concentrates to make your caramels, add them in step 5 when you add the vanilla extract. Be sure to stir well to ensure even distribution throughout the candies.
Notes and Expert Tips
Making caramel is not exactly a beginner-friendly recipe.
Not to discourage you, but I want to let you know that it takes time and patience to get this recipe to turn out right.
Below I will share some of my most helpful tips and tricks to help ensure your process goes smoothly and successfully.
Run a Non-Infused Test Batch First
Depending on your skill level in the kitchen, I highly recommend running a *non* cannabis-infused batch of caramel first so you can get used to the process.
This ensures you can get comfortable with the process and work out any potential kinks before making an infused batch.
If anything goes wrong the first time, you will be safe knowing you didn’t ‘ruin’ anything.
Maintain Proper Temperature Control
When making this recipe, taking your time and patience is extremely important.
It takes a lot of time to bring the mixture to temperature, upwards of 30-45 minutes.
While it may be tempting to blast the heat and get the temperature up fast, it is not the best approach.
A low and slow heating approach will ensure you have the best possible final product. Too fast heating or a lack of patience may result in a burned or scorched batch of caramel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Many people get nervous about bringing the infused cannabutter or cannabis sugar to a high temperature like the 245°F required in this recipe. Rest assured, this temperature is not too hot and will not destroy all of the cannabinoids in this recipe.
No, unfortunately, at this time, I do not have a substitute for corn syrup.
Take your edibles to the next level…
My Edibles Made Easy Online Cooking Course will teach you how to easily make cannabis edibles and topical recipes at home. This step-by-step video course will teach you how to infuse, extract, and create edibles with many different product types – all from the comfort of your own home.
More Cannabis Recipes You Will Love
Don’t forget to top your caramel with cannabis-infused sea salt!
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I made the recipe and the caramels are lock hard candies instead of being soft. Did I get the temperature too high?
Hi Cindy. If your caramels turned out to be rock hard, it’s likely that the sugar mixture was heated to a temperature that was too high. Caramel reaches the “hard crack” stage at temperatures between 300°F and 310°F, which results in a brittle, glass-like texture when cooled. For soft, chewy caramels, you’d want to aim for a lower temperature, typically around 245°F to 250°F, which is known as the “firm ball” stage.
You can try to soften your caramels, but placing the hard caramel back into a saucepan with a couple of tablespoons of water and gently heat it until the desired consistency is reached.
For future attempts, using a reliable candy thermometer helps to ensure accurate temperature readings and always stir gently to avoid creating sugar crystals, which can cause the entire mixture to crystallize.
I hope this helps!
Can you use the caramel mixture in store instead of making it from scratch? Curious
Hi Joyce. We have not experimented with store-bought caramel mix, but depending on what the recipe calls for, I don’t see why you couldn’t use your cannabis-infused ingredients for it. Let us know if you try it!
I make this recipe all the time. We love how it turns out and eat a piece before bed to help us sleep. (Before brushing our teeth haha)
Hi Casey. We’re so thrilled to hear that you enjoy this recipe and how wonderful to know that it helps you sleep better! Thank you for sharing your experience with our recipe.
Wow! Delicious and so easy to make. I have had brownies, gummies, cookies, etc… but never caramels. I found this recipe, made half the recipe (to see if I would like them) and I wasn’t disappointed. The creamy, buttery taste of the caramel melts in your mouth slowly. So far, I’ve made 3 batches of this recipe. It’s a keeper.
Hi Celesti. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! We love that this recipe has been such a success for you!
This is a great recipe! I’ve done it about 4 times now. I had trouble getting the temp up to 245, but when we swapped the evaporated milk to sweetened condensed milk that did the trick & they are perfect. (Reduce the sugar by about 1/3rd with this method.) we often cover them with dark chocolate. They’re always a big hit. Thank you Emily!
Hi Perry. A heavy-bottomed saucepan distributes the heat more evenly so it helps bring the temperature up to 245º easier. Thank you for sharing your success with us! We appreciate your support. ?
Everyone I know bakes brownies, cookies, muffins, gummies etc.. and I needed a recipe that would not only taste good, by satisfy my sweet tooth. I printed out your recipe and followed the directions. Wow ! Super easy and Super Good.
I really enjoyed your caramel recipe, especially the added touch of salt on top of the candy. My family and close friends love the buttery sweetness with each bite, and that the candy is an adult edible. My new and favorite go-to candy. Thank you.
Hi Celesti. Thank you for sharing with us! We appreciate your sharing the love. ?
I’ve tried this review a few times and can’t get the temperature to get above 230°F and both times I chickened out after remaining at that temp for ~20 minutes as I was afraid to burn the batch. Any thoughts on what night have caused that? I followed the recipe exactly, no substitutions…
Hi Chris. Are you using a heavy-bottomed saucepan? Thinner saucepans don’t distribute heat evenly which can prevent the caramel from reaching the desired temp. If you thermometer calibrated and accurate? Side note, if you do happen to burn the caramel, you can salvage it by adding a few tablespoons of heavy cream and stirring until smooth. I hope this helps!
I made the candy caramels yesterday and followed the recipe as written. Once the candy temp hit 245 degrees, I added the vanilla and poured into a prepared pan. Today, I removed the candy from the fridge and the caramels did not harden and the cannabutter settled to the bottom of the pan. I used clarified infused butter for the recipe. Should we be adding a full fat infused butter? Would you have any suggestions on how I can salvage my caramels ? Thank you.
Hi Celesti. Did you use a calibrated thermometer to achieve the right temperature? This recipe can be very temperamental if the temperature doesn’t get hot enough, or even too hot. You can put it back into the pan and cook until you reach 245°F. It will not harden if you do not reach that temperature. Clarified butter is fine. ☺️
I have made this multiple times and followed the recipe exactly how it states. This caramel is AMAZING. It does take about 45 minutes or so of stirring to reach the 245 degrees. I recommend putting a show on, pulling up a chair and just stirring lol don’t rush it! It’s definitely worth the time it takes.
Hi Rhi. Thank you so much for your feedback! This recipe is definitely a fan favorite, and we are so happy you have had success with it!
I’d never made Carmel a day in my life. I changed the setting to 30, and I did my best with the measurements. I gotta admit, I’d never guess I could kill it like that!!! Well done with the instructions. Even when I don’t who how to measure many of the alternate measurements, I could get close enough. I used cannisugar and butter. I stirred my ass off, and I had PERFECT caramel Can’t wait to make more! Thanks
Hi Blacksunshine! This is wonderful to hear! Thank you for your feedback and your support!
My first time ever making caramels. They were perfect!!! I’m a newbie and you have been my go-to for all things THC related. My FECO was a success too…until I spilled it ??? Thank you for educating me!!
HI Stacey! ? Thank you so much for your kind words. You put a big smile on Emily’s face as well as mine! Emily works hard to continuously improve the cannabis education she offers and it’s always rewarding to receive such wonderful feedback. We love that you love us. ??
How strong can a person make caramels. For pain.
Hi Bernice! There really isn’t a limit on the strength of these caramels. You can use cannabutter, cannasugar and add in additional concentrates, if desired. The strength of the caramels really depends on the strength of the infused ingredients you are using.
Here is a ratio guide that may help give you an idea of how to infuse your oil or butter. I hope this helps!
https://emilykylenutrition.com/cannabis-flower-to-oil-ratio-guide/
Does this recipe have to have canna butter or can I use infused coconut oil?
Hello Keepsie! I haven’t tested this recipe with coconut oil, so if you want to attempt it, I would try a virgin batch first, just in case. Let us know how it turns out for you!
Can you freeze the caramels?
Hi Madelin! Yes, you can store these caramels in the freezer for several months. ?
Hi Emily
I love your recipes! I’m in Australia and we use metric measurements down here. Is it possible for you to provide metric quantities as well? It would be a great help for us and Europeans, too. I hope you will consider this. Many thanks ?
Hello Alleyne; thank you so much for the request. I just went ahead and added metric units to this recipe. Now, under ingredients, you should see two buttons, one that says US Customary and one that says Metric. Push the metric button, and the ingredient units will change. Just know that I haven’t yet tested this recipe with these metric measurements, so I went ahead and put a disclaimer in there noting that. If you make this recipe with these metric measurements, please do let me know how it turns out for you 😀