The Best Caramel Dip
This caramel dip recipe is something you need in your life. It is 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 wanted to share the goodness. And goodness it is! This is the perfect homemade caramel for dipping. It’s thick and smooth, while still being scoop-able. I’ve made this recipe every fall since I first discovered it. I hope you try it and love it like I do.
I think of this caramel as party food and take it to fall parties over and over again. It makes about 3 cups of caramel dip, so there’s plenty for a crowd. It’s really simple to make, too — you are just cooking a few simple ingredients on the stove. I serve it with apples and pretzels for dipping. There’s something magical about fresh caramel and homegrown apples this time of year.
How do you get the perfect caramel consistency?
The goal for this dip is to be well, dippable, 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 less great for dipping little apple slices and pretzels.
Can you use something other than corn syrup?
I often get asked about switching out the corn syrup in this recipe, and I haven’t played with that much, so I don’t recommend doing it. I only use corn syrup in this recipe, my white cloud frosting recipe, and in caramel corn. That being said, it is a different product than high fructose corn syrup. Here’s an article from The Kitchn about it.
What should I do if I notice my caramel is burning?
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 — not the dream. 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 being careful to only stir 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.
The Best Caramel Dip
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 20 min
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (light or dark)
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
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.
Notes
- The goal for this dip is to be, well, 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 less great for dipping little apple slices and pretzels.
- I often get asked about switching out the corn syrup in this recipe, but I haven’t played with that much, so I don’t recommend doing it. I only use corn syrup in this recipe, my white cloud frosting recipe, and in caramel corn. That being said, it is a different product than high fructose corn syrup. Here’s an article from Serious Eats about it.
- 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 — not the dream.
- 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 being careful to only stir 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.
- Category: Dip
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: caramel dip, how to make caramel dip, easy caramel recipe, homemade caramel apples, homemade caramel, how to make caramel, best caramel recipe
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Other easy desserts you might like:
- Cinnamon Caramel Corn with White Chocolate and Pecans
- Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Caramel Frosting
- Caramel Apple Cake
- Gooey Caramel Corn
- Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark
- Cake Mix Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Grandma Shoaf’s Quick and Easy Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Easy Apple Pie Recipe (Using Fresh Apples)
- The Best Easy Apple Cake
- Perfect Pumpkin Bread
- The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever
- Soft Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
- The Best Simple Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
This post was originally published in October 2009, was republished with updated text, recipe instructions, and nutritional information in October 2017, and was updated and rephotographed again in September 2019.
This is truly the BEST caramel dip, and it’s perfect for your next party because it’s always a crowd favorite (and it only takes you about 20 minutes to put together — you can’t beat that!).
About Melissa
Melissa is deticated to helping parents figure out the nightly questions, "What's for Dinner?!" with her no-fuss approach to cooking. Read more...
Zucchini Side Dish
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I got some pretty nasty looking burn pieces in mine so I strained it through a fine mesh strainer! Made it look a lot nicer and still tasted great!!
Do you think I could use this for a dipped donut glaze?
It’s a lot thicker than a glaze BUT you could remove a bit when it hot and stir in additional cream to think it out, I think that would work.
I made this to go with apple slices and it turned out really well. I only made one change- I added a little sprinkle of salt and about 1/8 tsp baking soda at the end. The baking soda causes the caramel to foam up, which results in the final product having a softer texture from the microscopic air bubbles trapped inside. I found that 1/8 tsp baking soda was sufficient for a dip that could be scooped (with a spoon) straight from a cold fridge and would soften at room temperature quickly, but if you want it softer you can add a little more.
★★★★★
Just fixed this and even let it come to a full boil for a minute. It’s funny and doesn’t taste like caramel. Not a fan. No idea why it’s turning out for everyone else. Followed all the directions.
★
The instructions say to NOT bring it to a full boil, it’ll be too hard and burns easily. You just want a few bubbles along the top.
Do you store it at room temperature or in the fridge?
★★★★★
I pop it in the fridge and just warm it up a bit before serving again!
Can you put this in a crockpot to serve?
I’ve done it once. It worked better to make like a double boiler, put water on the bottom of the slow cooker on warm and then just set a thick bowl with caramel in the middle, keeps it from scorching!
I made this and it turned out amazing 😉 thank you! 😋 I will make this again for sure. My whole family loves it. Yummy!!!
★★★★★
Can I freeze this? For later use?
I haven’t tried it! Will you let us know if you do and how it works?!
Trying this recipe now. Thank you for posting such a simple recipe for hopefully a fantastic dip
★★★★★
This is forever one of my favorite recipes, I hope you love it!
Thank you for the recipe. The dip turned out good. I ate an apple with it. I am freezing the rest until I buy some more apples and I’m going to try it on ice cream.
★★★★
I just made this but only had 1/4 cup of corn syrup…it came out fine. In Mexico we make Dulce de Leche with just condensed milk, no butter, corn syrup or brown sugar and it’s delicious. But you have to cook the condensed milk for HOURS. However, because I know it doesn’t use corn syrup, I figured this would be fine with just a little bit and it is.
Thank you for the recipe. Every day my husband had apple slices with caramel dip. During the coronavirus pandemic, he can’t get his favorite caramel dip. He loves this dip and I don’t think he’ll be buying any more at the store!
★★★★★
Fun! Thank you for letting us know what worked for you!
I just made this with my oldest daughter, it was so easy. It is also so good even some of the pickiest eaters in my house liked it. Question though, since it is such a large batch. Will it save in the refrigerator for later use on ice cream or other creations? If so, how long will it keep?
★★★★★
Yes, it’s great in the fridge, just warm it up a bit before using it. It’ll last about a week.