How to Make Caramel Syrup for Coffee - CopyKat Recipes (2024)

Maybe just like you, we both love fancy coffees. I hate to say it but one of my vices is getting a nice cup of coffee out. I love adding a touch of caramel to my coffee. I can show you how to save money by making your caramel syrup for coffee from scratch.

Homemade Caramel Syrup for Coffee

For a pure hit of caffeine as you rush out the door in the morning, any old coffee will do. But if you have the time for a relaxing afternoon pick-me-up, you owe it to yourself to have something a bit more indulgent.

Why not try your everyday brew with a splash of cream and a touch of caramel syrup? This coffee drink is smooth, with just a hint of sweetness. Sure, you can use store-bought caramel coffee syrup, but do you really want to drink corn syrup or sodium benzoate with your coffee?

Besides, this homemade syrup is so easy to make and costs less than a tenth of what commercial caramel syrups sell for in the store. Try this two-ingredient coffee syrup recipe, and there is a good chance you will wind up thinking it is one of the best coffee syrups you have ever tried.

What is the difference between caramel sauce and caramel syrup?

The answer is simple, caramel sauce has more ingredients. If you are making this recipe with the expectation of making a caramel sauce, you will be disappointed. They both contain sugar and water.

Caramel sauce also has butter, cream, and salt. All those additional ingredients not only increases the complexity and cost of the recipe but the calorie count as well.

While this coffee syrup recipe isn’t the same as caramel sauce, it does provide a similar flavor to caramel sauce when added to beverages.

Caramel Syrup Ingredients

This recipe has a minimal amount of ingredients. There are no preservatives in this recipe. To make your own homemade caramel syrup you will need.

• White granulated sugar
• Water

How to Make Caramel Syrup

Cooking up a batch of homemade syrup is simple. All you need is a pan with a heavy bottom and a wooden spoon. Use the longest wooden spoon you own because you don’t want to get any melted sugar on your skin. A hot sugar burn isn’t fun.

Be prepared to stir the sugar constantly. Sometimes when we cook we don’t need to be actively involved with the process. This is one of those recipes where you need to be actively involved the whole time. Don’t walk away, burnt sugar isn’t pleasant.

Start by combining the water with the sugar in a small saucepan into the mixture that looks like wet sand. You may need a little more or water depending on several factors.

When the sugar mixture is at the right consistency, place the saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Give the sugar mixture one good stir and shake the saucepan until it is level.

Bring the sugar mixture to a boil. At this point, you need to pay careful attention to keep the sugar from burning. Try to avoid stirring because excess stirring can cause the sugar to crystalize.

Continue to cook the sugar mixture until it reaches the color you want. Never leave the saucepan unwatched. The sugar mixture can go from pale to burned in a minute or two.

This caramel syrup tastes just as good as any that you will buy.

How to Store Caramel Syrup

When I make a small batch of this syrup, I always store it in the refrigerator. Since this doesn’t have any preservatives, you need to make sure you store this in the refrigerator where it will stay fresh for a couple of months, not that you will have it for that long.

Is caramel syrup the same as simple syrup?

Both have the same ingredients (water and sugar), but what makes caramel syrup different is that the sugar is cooked and caramelizes during the cooking process. The cooking process gives the unique flavor we all love.

Safety Tips for working with caramel or caramel syrup

This recipe has one step in it that you have to be very alert, and that is when we combine the caramelized sugar, and the water.

I suggest that you perform this task over your sink. Do not place your face directly over the pot when you add the water.

Also, when stirring your caramel syrup use a heat-resistant spatula or a wooden spoon. Metal utensils conduct heat and may become warm while you are stirring your caramel syrup.

Tips for Making and Storing this Caramel Coffee Syrup Recipe

• Keep your sugar from recrystallizing. Add a few drops of lemon juice to after the sugar mixture comes to a boil to prevent it from clumping.
• Store in the fridge. Unlike store-bought caramel syrups, this version doesn’t have any preservatives to keep it shelf-stable. That means you need to store it in the refrigerator. It should last for at least a week or two. If you want, you can add a teaspoon of vodka to help preserve it a little longer.

Other ways to use caramel syrup, in addition to caramel coffee

This syrup is very thin, so it is great to add to beverages, here are a few more ideas for what you can do with your homemade caramel syrup.

• Make your own Caramel Latte
• Pour a bit over ice cream
• Add to a vanilla milkshake
• When making a cake, brush a little of this mixture over the cake before you frost it, it will give your cake extra flavor and keep it very moist.

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See Also

Perfect Pulled Pork Recipe — An Easy Oven Pulled Pork Recipe

Love coffee recipes? Check out these copycat favorites

• Hot Caramel Macchiato
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• Starbucks Berry Drink
• Starbucks Cafe Mocha
• Flat White from Starbucks
• Frappuccino Caramel Starbucks
• Homemade Mocha Iced Coffee
• Coolatta Dunkin Donuts
• Dunkin Donuts New Iced Coffee
• How to Make Cold Brew

More Homemade Coffee Flavorings

• International Coffee Flavors
• Amaretto Coffee Syrup
• Homemade Liquid Vanilla Creamer

Be sure to take a look at more of my easy drink recipes and popular copycat recipes.