The Best Easy Homemade Licorice Caramels

If you don’t like black licorice, these homemade licorice caramels will change your mind! I promise you, that they are chewy and yet become soft, as you begin to enjoy them. They have just the slightest hint of licorice, with notes of vanilla and butter. These are going to be a portion of my Christmas gift giving, but I know I’ll be making these throughout the year.

It is no secret, to anyone who knows me, that I adore caramel. Years ago, I discovered an English brand of licorice caramels that converted me from a non-loving black licorice eater to one who loved licorice caramels. One day, I discovered they were no longer on the shelves of the store where I found them. Over the years, I’ve searched in vain for them. Nothin’.  They were nowhere to be found.

Making caramels isn’t super difficult, if you’ve never done it before. There are just some common sense things that will help make this a fun project– with great results.  For one, a clip-on candy thermometer is something I can’t be without.

Before I begin cooking all the ingredients, until it comes to about 242 degrees, I have everything prepped ahead of time. Once the caramel has reached the desired temperature, you need to be ready to add the extract and salt– and you won’t have time to fuss around with that!  I’ve measured water, sugar, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk and butter and stirred it until it’s almost at the “firm ball” stage. Without a thermometer, this is total guesswork and your caramels might not set up properly, or become so hard you can’t chew them.  I don’t want that, nor would you.

I couldn’t photograph the process of pouring the molten hot caramel into my prepared pan (lightly buttered), because that could have been dangerous!  242 degrees of hot sugar could cause some serious burns, so I used both hands and focused on what I was doing.

I have to tell you about this cool pan that I recently bought. It’s made by Chicago Metallic, and it’s called a No-Bake Collapsible Pan with Cutting Gridlines (8×8 inch). UPDATE: Sadly, it looks like this product is no longer sold on Amazon.  I let the caramel “set” for a little over two hours.  All I had to do was unhinge each corner, and there you are!  Beautiful even caramel.  I was so excited. This pan is perfect for making homemade marshmallows.

I cut strips of caramel, atop a silicone cutting mat.  I applied a little non-stick spray onto a very sharp chef’s knife to cut small caramels.  Of course, I immediately filched one. Yummy! Happy Dance!

I think the most time consuming part was wrapping each caramel in pieces of waxed paper.

TASTING NOTES:  These tasted just like the caramels I used to buy– I was so happy.  Love these!  I only wish I had used 1 teaspoon of the black food coloring, to make these turn deeper in color than a very dark brown.  But, that’s purely esthetic.  As for texture– these were nice and chewy, but quickly softened to a texture that wouldn’t rip out your fillings or stick to your teeth!  The licorice flavor was spot on! Seriously, I didn’t find the anise to be overpowering– if you love licorice, kick up the extract maybe 1/4 teaspoon more. Personally, I wouldn’t change a thing.   My licorice haters, gingerly bit into one. They were surprised that these were not over powering…and they liked it. My licorice lovers, went bonkers over these.

Oh!  I made a Belgian Chocolate version of these caramels that were over-the-top awesome. These were equally decadent and addictive.

These will make fun Christmas gifts. I have more treats to come!

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The Best Black Licorice Caramels

If you don't like black licorice, these caramels will change your mind! I promise you, that they are chewy and yet become soft, as you begin to enjoy them. They have just the slightest hint of licorice, with notes of vanilla and butter. Even "licorice haters" liked these. Licorice lovers (like myself) went crazy over these. They aren't terribly difficult to make, though it's important that you have a few tools to make the job more efficient. These are going to be a portion of my Christmas gift giving, but I know I'll be making these throughout the year.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Candies, Candy, Dessert, Snacks

Keyword: Caramel Candies, Caramel Candy, Homemade Caramels, Licorice Caramel

Servings: 100 pieces

Calories: 50kcal

Author: Debby – www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Equipment

• Candy Thermometer (very important)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water 4-ounces
• 2 cups sugar 1-pound
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk 14-ounce
• 1 cup light corn syrup 12-ounces
• 1 1/2 sticks butter 6 ounces
• 2 teaspoons anise extract I ordered mine on Amazon
• 1 teaspoon black food coloring paste (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Last, but not least, be sure to have all of your ingredients measured out and ready to go. Silicone based spatulas make cleanup much easier than working with a wooden spoon…just my own experience.
• In a heavy-bottomed 4-quart saucepan, combine the water, sugar, condensed milk, corn syrup, and butter.
• 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 to 2 inches into the liquid (or according to your thermometer’s directions).
• Continue stirring gently while the mixture boils and cooks, until the caramels reach 242-244°F., this took about 40 minutes on my gas burner. 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 anise extract, food coloring, vanilla extract and 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. If you invested in the collapsable pan, you simple unhinge each corner, and gently lift out the entire caramel. Easy peasy!
• Cut the caramels into pieces using a large knife or bench scraper. Wrap each caramel square in a bit of wax paper, twisting the ends to secure.
• These can store, in an airtight container (individually wrapped) for 1 to 2 weeks, but I doubt they will last that long!

Notes

I highly recommended using a candy thermometer (that clips on the side of your pot). Candy making isn’t difficult, but it’s total guesswork if you don’t have a reliable thermometer, that will guide you as to when the caramel has been cooked properly.

I also bought a Chicago Metallic CMB039 Marshmallow Collection No-Bake Collapsible Pan with Cutting Gridlines, 8 by 8-Inch (under $15.00) on Amazon. It’s a great tool for easily removing caramels, fudge or marshmallows. However, if you have just a plain old pan, I recommend lining it with a parchment paper “sling” and then butter it. The sling will make lifting out the caramel much less difficult.

You will also need a very sharp chef’s knife for the best ease in cutting the caramels. Sometimes, I use a little non-stick spray, on the blade of the knife to help the knife glide through the caramel cutting process.

I used a non-stick large heavy pot, because caramel can tend to bubble up pretty high– so use one that holds at least 4-quarts of water.

Licorice extract source: amazon

Recipe source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Nutrition

Calories: 50kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 25mg | Potassium: 15mg | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 53IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @afeastfortheeyes or tag #afeastfortheeyesblog!

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