These Keto caramels candies are a simple grandmotherly treat that you can make yourself at home. And each low carb caramel candy has less than 1g net carbs.
I can't write about Keto caramels without giving a shout out to Werther's Originals. (commercial below)
My grandmother never went anywhere without a couple caramels in her purse.
(Or "carmels, like we always pronounced it.)
I remember her handing out carmels during the most boring parts of church. (And there were a lot of boring parts in church.) Now that I've foresworn sugar, I was relieved to find a sugar-free recipe for caramel candy. This is the soft melt-in-your-mouth kind of caramel, not the hard kind. I'd put them on the fudgey end of the caramel candy spectrum.
All you need is butter, cream and a little sweetener and you too can make these Keto caramels.
First, you melt the butter over medium-low heat and cook it until it browns. Add your sweetener and pancake syrup and cook until it thickens and becomes gooey, about 3 minutes. Add cream and cook for a minute more. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and whisk until it cools a bit. Then pour it into candy molds and chill for a few hours until they harden.
And that's all it takes to make this classic treat, beloved by grandparents everywhere.
📋 Recipe
Low Carb Keto Caramels
These low carb soft caramel candies are a simple grandmotherly treat that you can make yourself at home. And each caramel has less than 1g net carbs.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 5
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 caramels 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- ¼ cup butter
- 3 tablespoons sugar-free pancake syrup or equivalent sugar-free syrup
- ⅓ cup Swerve or equivalent granulated sweetener
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
1. Attach a candy thermometer to a medium sized sauce pan. Add butter and melt over low heat. Stir in syrup and sweetener. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.
2. Simmer mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 220 degrees F, about 3 minutes. Stir in heavy whipping cream. The mixture will be bubbly.
3. Continue heating mixture, stirring constantly, until it reaches 250 degrees F, about 1 minute.. Remove mixture from heat.
4. Mix in vanilla extract and salt until smooth and combined.
5. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and whisk for several minutes as it cools down.
6. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the wells of a candy mold.
7. Freeze until set, at least 2 hours.
8. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Notes
This recipe was modified on 4-10-2019.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 caramel
- Calories: 42
- Fat: 44
- Carbohydrates: <1
- Fiber: 0
- Protein: 0
Keywords: Low Carb Caramels, Keto Caramels, Sugar-Free Caramels
Rick Giuliano says
Can this recipe be used to make sugar free turtles? I have Lilly’s sugar free chips I can melt.
EmilyKrill says
I think it should work.
Rick Giuliano says
I made the turtles using this recipe. It did not turn out like caramels, but did turn into a praline taste and consistency. Even though they were nothing like a caramel, it ended up being great!
EmilyKrill says
Well alright.
Diane says
Quick question... love the mold. Where can I purchase one?
EmilyKrill says
I got it from Amazon, but I can't find the exact mold right now. This one is very close though. https://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Chocolate-ANIN-Non-Stick-Kitchen/dp/B073RJGGYP
Suzanne says
I bet you could make them with a brown butter ghee as well.
EmilyKrill says
I haven't tried that, but I bet you could too.
Linda says
I made them (with a candy thermometer) but they weren’t caramel...they were fudge. What did I do wrong?
★★★
EmilyKrill says
No, I don’t think you did anything wrong. If you read the post, I explained that it’s a soft caramel on the fudgy end of the candy spectrum.
Crystal says
Mine ended up being a hard almost instantaneous melt away.. I think I heated the mixture too long cause I put it in a medium sauce pan and my thermometer wasn’t submerged enough. Next time I plan to double the recipe and use a small pan. Maybe add caramel flavor and. Ow salt. Not sure I like the salt. I used tillamook unsalted butter FYI.
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
I've never heard of Tillamook butter before. But Google says it's available at Walmart, so I will definitely check it out.
EmilyKrill says
Yes, that was a typo, thanks so much for catching that! It should have been 42 calories, not 242. Changing it now.
Caryn Menard says
Can you use this recipie to dip apples on a stick for Carmel apples
EmilyKrill says
No, this caramel is not sticky enough to stay on an apple.
Sharon Bradshaw says
Can you use these caramels to make millionaires? I am looking for a sugar free caramel to use with an old recipe to make millionaires.
EmilyKrill says
I actually have another caramel bar that might be good to use for Millionaire's Shortbread. You can skip the nuts and double the middle caramel layer. Chill the bars for 1 hour in the refrigerator and then mix up a chocolate layer from 1/2 cup sugar-free chocolate chips, 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream and 1 tablespoon powdered Swerve. Heat the cream and sugar in a sauce pan until just beginning to boil. Stir in the chocolate chips, let them sit for 10 minutes to melt and give it a good stir. Pour it over the bars. Put back the pan back in the fridge for another hour or so until the chocolate layer becomes firm.
Got all that? Here's the recipe I'm thinking of: https://www.resolutioneats.com/blog/pecan-pie-bars/ Good Luck! Let me know if this cockamamy idea works out.
Marie says
I see you modified the recipe after the first time I made it, could you actually tell me the old recipe? I have to say, I do think they are more close to sticky with this new version, but they are just a bit too sweet in my opinion, and it also took waaaay longer to make (although I did double the recipe, so that would account for some extra time, but not this much) the long time heating up to the temperatures might be why it's sweeter, if too much liquid boiled off... anyway, I might try to merge the old and new recipe, because I do like the new texture, but they're too sweet to eat more than one....which some might view as a good thing, lol!
EmilyKrill says
Yes, I did change the recipe. Sorry for the confusion. I kept getting comments that the caramels weren't setting up properly, so I decided to adjust the recipe to make it more foolproof. But here's the original recipe. I'm so glad that you liked it.
Low Carb Caramels
1 cup butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
6 tablespoons Powdered Swerve
1. Melt butter in a medium sized non-stick sauce pan over Medium Low heat until light brown in color.
2. Add cream and sweetener and mix until it thickens and begins to feel sticky, about 2 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and continue to stir for several minutes to keep it from separating.
4. Pour into candy molds and chill for 3-4 hours to harden
Dee says
Is powdered swerve the confectioners swerve or regular swerve put into a grinder and made into powder at home?
EmilyKrill says
You can use either one. Confectioners Swerve is less common, so I put in the explanation of how to turn regular into powdered for the people who didn’t have it.