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    Home » Recipes » Dessert

    Black Licorice Caramels

    Published by Melissa on July 13, 2015 | Updated November 2, 2022 | 44 Comments

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    Featured Image for post Black Licorice Caramels

    These Black Licorice Caramels are a cross between black licorice and soft buttery caramels. They’re easy to make, and are a perfect gift for the black licorice lover in your life. 

    My dear, sweet, friend and neighbor, Betty, brought me a batch of theses black licorice caramels recently when I had family in town for my nephew’s funeral. She’s one of the most thoughtful people I know, and always has a smile on her face. 

    Betty Making Black Licorice Caramels

    She’s a remarkable woman. She has the energy of someone half her age and always has a project she’s working on. Recently, she leveled the ground in her yard for a shed she was having delivered.

    We share a love of baking, cooking and of course eating sweet treats. My family loved the black licorice caramels she made us so much that I asked her if I could come over to her house and have her teach me how to make them.

    Collage of making Black Licorice Caramels

    I’ve always been a little bit afraid of making candy at home because I tend to burn myself on the hot syrup. But this recipe really isn’t scary and neither of us burned ourselves.

    The caramels are easy to make. Betty’s been making them for over 20 years. She’s tweaked the recipe over the years and prefers to add a lot more anise oil than the original recipe. She uses 1 ½ tablespoons of anise oil, which I thought was just the right amount too.

    Collage showing cutting and wrapping Black Licorice Caramels

    She prefers not to use a thermometer when she cooks the caramels, and use the cold water candy test  to cook the syrup until it’s at a firm soft ball stage – a firm-ball 242°F (sea-level). That would make it about 232° at my altitude in Salt Lake about 4,000 feet, or 238° for a firm caramel. Betty also likes letting the caramels set up overnight before cutting them.

    Betty cuts the caramels in to about 1 inch squares. She then shapes them in to a rectangle as she rolls them up in waxed paper. She came over to my house the day after we made the caramels and showed me how to roll them.  It goes pretty fast when you get the hang of it, especially when there are two of you rolling.

    These addictive, easy to make Black Licorice Caramels are a cross between black licorice and soft buttery caramels.

    You can cut the caramels in the pan, but it’s easier to take them out of the pan to cut them. I used a long watermelon knife to cut them in to rows. My rows weren’t very straight, but I just cut the pieces longer on the skinny rows. The caramels were easy to shape in to a rectangle as you’re wrapping them.

    I thought about sharing some of this second batch of black licorice caramels with my neighbors, but my family gobbled them up so quickly there weren’t any left to share. Guess I’ll have to make more soon.

    Featured Image for post Black Licorice Caramels
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    4.12 from 18 votes

    Black Licorice Caramels

    Course: Candy
    Author: Barbara Schieving
    Prevent your screen from going to sleep

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup butter
    • 2 cups sugar
    • 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
    • 1 ½ cups Karo light corn syrup
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • ¾ teaspoon black paste food coloring
    • 1 ½ tablespoons anise oil

    Instructions

    • Butter a 9×13” glass dish with buttered foil.
    • In a large heavy bottomed pan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in sugar, milk, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Continue cooking over medium-low heat, until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a *firm soft pliable ball, about 238°.
    • Remove from heat. Add food coloring and anise oil, and mix until the oil is completely incorporated. Pour into a buttered 9×13” glass pan. Let caramels cool over night.
    • Remove caramel from the pan, cut into 1 inch pieces. Wrap in 5×4 inch pieces of wax paper and twist the ends to enclose the caramel.

    Notes

    * a firm-ball 242°F (sea-level). That would make it about 232° at my altitude in Salt Lake about 4,000 feet, or 238° for a firm caramel.

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    About Melissa & Barbara

    As of June 2022 Melissa Griffiths now is the one adding recipes. So think of it as Barbara Bakes, and Melissa too! Melissa and Barbara have been blogging friends for over 10 years and when Barbara was ready to retire and spend more time with her family, Melissa took over the site. Read more...

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Judy Kondrup

      November 02, 2022 at 1:43 pm

      I want to make these! Just wondering – is it anise OIL or EXTRACT? One recipe I saw said to use only 1/4 tsp. Oil to sub for 1 tsp. Extract.

      Reply
      • Melissa Griffiths

        November 02, 2022 at 7:56 pm

        It’s an oil and you’ll love the flavor!

        Reply
    2. Gaylene

      October 12, 2022 at 7:25 pm

      Do you really use a tablespoon and a half of anise oil? It’s my understanding that is a lot stronger than anise extract, and most recipes I’m seeing say to use one or two TEASPOONS of extract.

      Reply
      • Melissa Griffiths

        November 02, 2022 at 7:55 pm

        Yep, that’s how much I use and love it, feel free to use less if you prefer.

        Reply
    3. Shaw R

      July 28, 2021 at 11:18 pm

      What color would they be without the food coloring? I tend to have allergies to food coloring so would probably try to make them without.

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        July 29, 2021 at 4:35 am

        You could definitely make them without the food coloring. They would be a caramel color.

        Reply
    4. Bobbi Hendrickson

      December 16, 2020 at 6:33 pm

      If you use parchment paper instead of wax paper they shouldn’t stick. 

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        December 16, 2020 at 6:47 pm

        Thanks for the tip!

        Reply
    5. Shelley Rice

      December 03, 2020 at 10:20 am

      I make these regularly with and without the licorice flavor. This recipe is by far the easiest and best I’ve found. Thanks for putting it out there!!!!

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        December 03, 2020 at 11:34 am

        That’s great to hear – thanks Shelley!

        Reply
    6. Norma

      February 27, 2020 at 10:15 pm

      My carmels always stick to the tin foil , I used wax paper they also stuck please help me

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        February 27, 2020 at 11:34 pm

        Hi Norma – I researched the problem and others said humid can cause a sticking problem. Is it humid where you’re at? Also, someone recommended these https://amzn.to/2whzfRl (affiliate link) and said their caramels don’t stick to them. You could also try cellophane. https://amzn.to/39iDiMd

        Reply
      • Ollie

        December 23, 2022 at 8:10 pm

        Hello,

        I have been making these for years….I simply butter a 9X13 and have never had any problems. I tried the buttered foil and all of the licorice stuck.

        Reply
    7. Diane

      December 30, 2018 at 5:23 pm

      I’ve been making these little gems since 2001. They were in
      better Homes and Gardens Grand Holiday Cooking in 1991 and later in the December 1991 BH&G Magazine.

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        December 30, 2018 at 5:44 pm

        Fun!

        Reply
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