Caramel Lollipops
These Caramel Lollipops are buttery and sweet, just like you remember from your childhood. I grew up eating these beloved little suckers from Fannie May, and now i've created my own homemade version!
If you love making homemade candy as much as I do, be sure to check out some of my other favorites like Homemade Marshmallows Without Eggs, Vegan Dark Chocolate Mini Peanut Butter Cups, Vegan Snickers Bars, Strawberry Cream Drops, Homemade Chewy Chocolate Caramel Candy, Homemade Chewy Coffee Caramel Candies, or Salted Almond Dark Chocolate Bars.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Caramel Lollipops
- Ready In: 50 minutes
- Makes: 24 lollipops
- Main Ingredients: salted butter, cane sugar, heavy whipping cream
- Flavor Profile: buttery, sweet caramel
- Dietary Info: gluten free, no seed oils, eggless
- Difficulty: Medium
- Why You’ll Love It: 3 ingredient Fannie May candies copycat recipe!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Nostalgic: I grew up eating these delicious little suckers from the beloved Fannie May. If you are from the Midwest, then you know about these Fannie May classics, and you will love this homemade version of Caramel Lollipops!
- 3 Ingredients: I make a true caramel for these Caramel Lollipops. A true caramel means that I dry burn the sugar and that is what creates the caramel flavor. Not all caramels are true caramels! Some caramel recipes may have corn syrup, water, brown sugar, or other ingredients that may mimic caramel. These Caramel Lollipops are made of true caramel with just 3 ingredients: cane sugar, butter, and heavy whipping cream. Learn more in my post Homemade True Caramel.
- Buttery & Sweet: These Caramel Lollipops are buttery and sweet. They are the ultimate treat! If you are a fan of caramel anything, then you will adore these Caramel Lollipops!
Jump to:
What is true caramel?
True caramel means that the caramel is made from dry burning the sugar. Making true caramel starts by heating cane sugar over low heat until it begins to melt. As it melts, you will need to constantly stir it to keep it from burning. As the sugar melts and cooks, it caramelizes, which is what creates the caramel flavor!
True caramel will only use sugar for flavor, nothing else. Depending on the type of caramel that is being made, different amounts of butter and heavy whipping cream may be added in. If you see a caramel recipe that calls for water, corn syrup, or brown sugar, then you are not making true caramel because these ingredients will mimic the flavor of caramel without dry burning the sugar.
I am a caramel snob and only enjoy true caramel flavor! We made caramel daily at my bake shop and most of our best selling recipes included caramel! Try Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies with Homemade Caramel, Caramel Hot Cocoa, Caramel Buttercream Frosting, Salted Caramel Cake With Buttercream Frosting, Homemade Caramel Sauce with Bone Broth, and Gingerbread Caramel Sauce too!
Ingredients
- Sugar: I use organic cane sugar to make these lollipops.
- Butter: My favorite is Organic Valley Salted Butter, it's what I use in this recipe. Just make sure you are using a sweet cream butter with ~80% butterfat. Stay away from European butters with higher butterfat content as those will cause the caramel to burn (and it won't even be your fault!). Check out the Best Salted Butter for Baking for even more info!
- Heavy Whipping Cream: Make sure to use a high quality cream, you can use pasteurized or unpasteurized, either works. I prefer Organic Valley.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker's Tips
- Use a high heat spatula when making this recipe. Because caramel gets incredibly hot, it can melt or warp other spatulas if you are not using a high heat spatula.
- Be sure to stir the sugar and don't leave it unattended as it can burn easily. When the sugar on the bottom begins to melt, then swirl around the pot or stir it to bring the melted sugar to the top (the clumps) and push un-melted sugar to the bottom so it can melt. Continue to do this until completely melted.
- Have butter and cream at room temperature so they can easily combine into the sugar.
- Do not add in the butter until the sugar is completely melted. If you add butter in when there are still clumps of sugar, that sugar will never melt.
- Be sure to work quickly when the butter is added and to stir consistently.
- And, when the cream is added, be sure to stir quickly the entire time.
- Work quickly to pour the caramel into the molds. This recipe hardens pretty quick (compared to caramel sauce!), so the quicker you get into the molds the better.
- Wear an oven mitt to prevent the steam from burning your hands.
How to Make Caramel Lollipops
- Place the sticks in the lollipop mold. Be sure to place the top of the stick all the way into the middle of the lollipop mold so it stays in well.
- In a medium saucepan, add the sugar and put over low/medium heat. (If you have a gas stove, I recommend low, if you have electric you could do medium).
- Once the sugar starts to melt, stir with a high heat spatula to keep from burning. Sugar clumps will form until the sugar turns into a liquid, continue to stir.
- Once the sugar has completely melted into a liquid, add the butter. Be careful because steam will rise up quickly. Stir rapidly until the mixture is combined.
- Once the butter is completely combined, add in the cream a little at a time. Be careful, because the cream is colder than the sugar mixture so more steam will rise up quickly. Stir rapidly to combine completely when each amount of cream is added.
- Pour caramel into lollipop molds.
- Let cool completely to harden, remove from molds.
Caramel Lollipops FAQ's
YES, identical to the iconic Fannie May! But, these are so much better for you as I'm using only 3 organic ingredients!
Yes, you can use any kind of lollipop mold you like! If you use a larger one, you'll just get less suckers.
It will be a dark amber color and completely smooth with no clumps. Watch the video to see exactly how it looks!
Your caramel burned because you left it unattended or because the heat was too high. Dry burning sugar is a delicate balance of having the heat hot enough to melt and caramelize the sugar, but low enough that it doesn't burn. All ranges are a little different, so it may take a try before you find your perfect temperature on your stove.
Your caramel can become grainy if the heat is too low. It's a delicate balance of having the heat hot enough to melt and caramelize the sugar, but not so hot that it burns.
Because the heat is too low. Like I mentioned above, it's a delicate balance of the heat being hot enough to do the things it needs to do, but low enough to not burn the caramel!
If you have extra caramel, feel free pour it onto a silicone mat. You can break it up and use it on top of other desserts or even just as tiny little hard candies.
The ratio of sugar, butter, and cream is what determines if caramel is soft like a sauce, chewy like chewy caramels, or hard. So, if your caramel is not hardening, then you measured incorrectly as the ratio is off.
Because it's cooling. So, it's important to work quickly and add the caramel into the lollipop molds immediately upon removing from the heat. So, have them ready!
Yes, if you have a small square or round candy mold, you can also use this recipe for caramel hard candies.
The ratio of cane sugar, butter and cream is what determines the texture of the caramel. To learn more, you can read my post Homemade True Caramel.
I use silicone lollipop molds, so this allows them to pop out very easily. I recommend using silicone for the best removal experience!
Store in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 2 weeks.
More Caramel Recipes
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Caramel Lollipops
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Small Pot
- Lollipop Molds & Sticks
Ingredients
- 454 grams cane sugar
- 57 grams salted butter
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Place the sticks in the lollipop mold. Be sure to place the top of the stick all the way into the middle of the lollipop mold so it stays in well.
- In a medium saucepan, add the sugar and put over low/medium heat. (If you have a gas stove, I recommend low, if you have electric you could do medium). Once the sugar starts to melt, stir with a high heat spatula to keep from burning. Sugar clumps will form until the sugar turns into a liquid, continue to stir.
- Once the sugar has completely melted into a liquid, add the butter. Be careful because steam will rise up quickly. Stir rapidly until the mixture is combined.
- Once the butter is completely combined, add in the cream a little at a time. Be careful, because the cream is colder than the sugar mixture so more steam will rise up quickly. Stir rapidly to combine completely when each amount of cream is added.
- Pour caramel into lollipop molds. Let cool completely to harden, remove from molds.
Video
Notes
- Be sure to weigh ingredients, this recipe is so simple and includes minimal ingredients but the ratio is what makes it work! So, for the best results, weigh the sugar.
- Have butter and cream at room temperature to easier combine into the hot sugar, this will result in less steam rising up.
- Use an oven mitt when making this to prevent steam from burning your hands (bakery trick!).
- Use a high heat spatula to prevent your spatula from warping.
- If you have extra caramel and not enough molds, just dump onto a silicone mat. You can break it up and use shards on top of cupcakes or cakes. You can even just enjoy as hard candy pieces!
Nutrition
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Nice recipe. At what temperature should I stop cooking to make lollipops?
Hi! You do not need a candy thermometer to make these, just follow the steps and as soon as all the cream is incorporated and you have a smooth caramel, you can remove from the heat and pour into the molds. Work quickly at this stage, as the caramel will start to harden fast once removed from the heat.
Just made these…they are Absolutely Delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
Hi Randi, so glad you like them as much as I do!
Mine taste a little burnt…got the sugar going too hot I assume? I had it about medium on electric…I’ll try again on a slightly lower temp
hi Jess!
Yes, if you have a slight burnt flavor you did cook the sugar too high. All stoves are a bit different, so you need to get to know yours whenever making a true caramel such as this. I would try a bit lower, you can always turn it up. Another trick you can use is turn the heat down a bit midway through melting the sugar. The hotter heat can get it going, then you can reduce it for when it begins to melt so it doesn’t get too toasted. Fingers crossed for round two!
What if I only have one mold with space for 8 only.? Will my caramel harden in pan?
hi Beverly! This caramel does begin to harden very quickly after it’s ready. If you only have one mold, pour into that mold first. You can pour additional caramel onto a baking sheet with a silicone mat (or parchment paper) and then break it up into pieces or shards for little caramel hard candies or use as cupcake or cake toppers for decoration. I do recommend getting more molds though as they are so good as lollipops! You could also get molds for small round hard candies too.
Delicious treat and easy to follow recipe. Thank you Mimi!
Simply delightful!
I love Sees lollipops, but these are better! They have a much more rich caramel flavor. Delicious.
I love the flavor! My lollipops have a little grainy texture. Did I do something wrong?
hi Angela,
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the flavor! If you have a grainy texture then you probably didn’t let the sugar melt completely or use a high enough heat. While the sugar can look melted, if it’s cooked too low, it can still become grainy. So, if you are cooking on a lower setting it’s fine, but you’ll want to cook the sugar a tad bit longer to ensure all the crystals are melted and smooth. Or you can turn the heat up just a tad towards the end to ensure sugar is melted completely, and you can always turn it down a little before adding in butter and cream. Also, if you are not using a stainless steel pan, I’d recommend switching to one as this conducts heat better than something like nonstick and this could also help. I hope this helps on your next batch!
Thank you! I am using a stainless steel pan. I’ll cook the sugar a little longer. I have a gas stove so I was being careful. 😊
That’s great! If you have a gas stove, yes, careful 🙂 you can turn it up a little bit during sugar stage, then lower it when you add the butter and cream. Hope next batch is perfect!