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The Best Caramel Dip

By Melissa Griffiths

4.72 from 52 votes

Updated Aug 21, 2024

This is the best caramel dip recipe ever. Made on the stove with butter, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk, it’s the perfect consistency for dipping pretzels and apples.

I have a few favorite fall recipes that I always make for fun fall parties and events: apple cider, my favorite apple cheese board, and this Caramel Dip.

This caramel dip recipe is something you need in your life. It’s actually the very first recipe that I published as a blogger way back in 2009. I didn’t even have a picture of the end product, but I wanted to share the goodness. And goodness it is! I’ve made this recipe every fall since I first discovered it. I hope you try it and love it as much as I do!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• This is the perfect homemade caramel for dipping. It’s thick and smooth while still being scoopable.
• I think of this caramel as party food and repeatedly take it to fall parties. It makes about 3 cups of caramel dip, so there’s plenty for a crowd.
• It’s really simple to make, too—just cook a few simple ingredients on the stove.

Recipe Ingredients

• Butter – I use salted but if using unsalted butter, add a tiny bit of salt
• Brown sugar – either light or dark will work
• Corn syrup
• Sweetened condensed milk
• Vanilla extract

See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to Make the Best Caramel Dip

1. Melt butter over medium heat.
2. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk, stirring to combine.
3. Stir constantly until it comes to a light, bubbly boil.
4. Remove from heat right away and add the vanilla.

Recipe FAQs

Expert Tips

• Don’t wander away from this recipe while it is cooking! You need to do a lot of stirring, or the bottom of the dip will scorch and burn.
• If the caramel does start to burn, remove the pan from the heat. If the scorch isn’t too bad, you won’t be able to taste it, but you still might have little flecks of dark sugar in your caramel. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than feeling like you ruined the whole batch.
• I serve it with apples and pretzels for dipping, and it’s also fabulous on churro waffles and an easy apple cake.

More Fun Fall Recipes & Projects to Consider

Pies, Crisps & Tarts

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Dessert Recipes

Easy Pumpkin Donut Holes

Halloween Recipes

Halloween Food Ideas for Kids

From Scratch Recipes

Butterbeer

Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!

4.72 from 52 votes

The Best Caramel Dip

By: Melissa Griffiths

This is the best caramel dip recipe ever. Made on the stove with butter, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk, it's the perfect consistency for dipping pretzels and apples.

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 24 (Make 3 cups)

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1/2 cup salted butter
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, light or dark
• ▢ 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• ▢ 1 can sweetened condensed milk, (14 ounces)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla

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Instructions 

• In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
• Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk, stirring to combine.
• Stir constantly until mixture comes to a light bubbly boil, with just a few bubbles popping through the surface of the caramel (see notes for more details).
• Remove from heat right away and add the vanilla. Stir to combine.
• Serve warm or at room temperature with apple slices and pretzels, or drizzle over ice cream.

Video

Notes

• The goal for this dip is to be dip-able, so you’ll want to bring the sugar mixture to a nice bubble but not a full boil. If you boil it too long or hard, you’ll end up with a thicker caramel that is great for dipping whole apples but not for dipping little apple slices and pretzels.
• The corn syrup is a necessary ingredient so please don’t try any substitutes! (See my note above for more details, as well as this article from Serious Eats.)
• Don’t wander away from this recipe while it is cooking. A lot of stirring needs to be done so the bottom of the dip doesn’t scorch and burn.
• If you do see that the bottom is starting to scorch (you’ll see little flecks of really dark sugar when you stir), remove the pan from the heat right away. If the caramel hasn’t finished cooking, you can return it to the heat while carefully stirring the top of the caramel and avoiding scraping up the burnt sugar on the bottom of the pan. If the scorch isn’t too bad, you won’t be able to taste it, but you still might have little flecks of dark sugar in your caramel. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than feeling like you ruined the whole batch.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 of 24 servings, Calories: 170kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 62mg, Potassium: 81mg, Sugar: 31g, Vitamin A: 162IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 61mg, Iron: 0.1mg

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