Homemade Chocolate Caramel Candy (Rollos)

These Caramel Chocolate Candies disappear just about as fast as I can make them. Don't worry, though; they are easy to make for everyone!

Caramel Chocolate Candies are soft chewy and make the perfect treat to replace all the store-bought candy that has been sitting in a warehouse or on the store shelves for who knows how long before it got to you. Plus, these are much more allergy-friendly. Have you ever looked at the ingredient list on one of the boxes of candy?

Don't worry; these homemade versions are much better, and you and your loved ones will be much happier devouring these than biting into a store-bought one and not knowing what flavor they are eating.

Chocolate Caramel Candies

Rollo's happen to be our youngest daughter's favorite candy. However, they contain corn syrup, so we don't buy the store-bought ones anymore. I've always made my homemade candy for the holidays, so when she requested a homemade rollo, of course, I told her I could do that. I mean, it's just caramel in chocolate; it's not that hard, just like my gluten-free caramels recipe.

This recipe uses a fail-proof caramel and, of course, some chocolate. You can use a chocolate mold, or you can easily dip the caramel pieces in chocolate to make them even easier to make. It's totally up to you.

Tips and Tricks

• I like to make the caramel ahead of time so it has enough time to set up. I'll usually do it earlier in the day or the day before.
• Use good quality chocolate - I use Enjoy Life Chocolates when making candy because they are allergy-friendly.
• Make sure you temper your chocolate - This might sound complicated, but it's really not. But it's essential to give your chocolate a good shine as well as a snap so it doesn't just melt in your hand.
• Add a little sea salt to these to make them a little fancy!
• Keeping it nut-free - make sure you use nut-free chocolate as many brands are not safe for nut allergies. (See note about quality chocolate above.)
• Keeping it dairy-free - See note about quality chocolate above and see notes in the caramel recipe for keeping it dairy-free.
• Using a chocolate mold or not - This one is a total preference. Chocolate molds will yield a more consistent shape to the final chocolates,

  but it does add another step of work to layer the chocolate and caramel in them. If not, simply cut and dip the caramels into the chocolate and enjoy!

Making the Caramel

Don't be intimidated to make candy; I promise it's a lot easier than you think, and it's way more delicious!

Ingredients:

• 2 C Sugar (coconut sugar works as well)
• 1 C Water
• ¼ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ C Butter
• ⅓ C Heavy Cream (or coconut cream), at room temperature

Directions:

1. In a pot over LOW heat, add the water, sugar, and cream of tartar. Stir until the mixture becomes clear and the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Once the sugar is dissolved, bump the heat up to medium, stop stirring and let the mixture start to come to a low boil.
3. Don't rush this part; let the mixture go until it starts to turn a golden brown, about 350 on a candy thermometer. It might take up to 20 minutes.
4. Once the golden color desired is reached, remove the pot from the heat. Add the butter and heavy cream. Be careful; it will steam, so give it a second to calm down. Stir the mixture until combined, and the bubbles are gone.
5. Pour the mixture into a parchment-lined baking dish or sheet pan depending on what shapes you want and allow to cool (4-6 hours). Sprinkle with salt if desired.
6. Slice the caramels into desired shapes/ sizes as needed for your Caramel Chocolate Candies.

Notes:

• Using a candy thermometer is helpful, especially for beginners, but if you don't have one, watch for your sugar to turn a light golden. Once color appears, it will go fast, so carefully observe it, but DO NOT STIR. Overly dark caramel will yield a much firmer texture, so make sure you are watching it.
• This caramel candy recipe works with both salted and unsalted butter. I prefer unsalted so I can control the amount of salt in the end.
• You can substitute brown sugar for the granulated sugar, keep in mind the brown sugar will yield a darker, more molasses-type flavor profile to the final caramel.
• If you want this dairy-free, you can use coconut cream in place of the heavy cream and sub in palm shortening (half the amount) for butter.
• If you can handle dairy and want to make these even fancier, you can sub in whipped cream or condensed milk (they make a coconut condensed milk as well for dairy-free)

Storing Caramel Chocolate Candies

• Store these in an airtight container at room temperature.
• If they are stored near a heat source or direct sunlight, they can melt.
• If desired, these can be kept in the fridge but avoid the freezer if possible. Chocolate can build up with condensation when kept at colder temperatures.
• These Caramel Chocolate Candies will last for about 2-3 weeks when stored at room temperature. If I want to save longer or prevent the caramels from sticking, I will wrap them in parchment paper squares.

More Chocolate Treats

• Chewy Fudge Brownies
• Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce
• Chocolate Peppermint (Thin Mint) Cookies
• Chocolate Pear Cardamom Cake
• Chocolate Covered Banana Bites

📖 Recipe

Originally Posted 02/09/2020