Want to make a delicious latte at home? Try this homemade salted caramel syrup that is perfect for coffee. It’s easy to make and only requires a few ingredients.
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I normally drink hot tea in the morning. It’s been my morning drink of choice since I was a kid. My favorite is earl grey with milk and sugar.
I do enjoy coffee though, especially on a cool evening. I often find myself getting in the habit of getting a coffee out. They are delicious and it’s quick and easy but there is a lot of waste, cost, and mystery ingredients.
Hover over this image to shop for the glass bottles I used!
I have found that when I make really good quality, french pressed coffee at home I don’t feel the need for as much sweetener as you find in coffees you get out. Espresso-based drinks can often have more of a bitter taste that needs to be covered up with sugar, unlike french press coffee which isn’t burned.
It is still nice to be able to have fun flavored coffee though. I’ve tried some of the naturally flavored coffee syrups and most aren’t that exciting. The ones that taste best aren’t very natural.
I decided to try and make my own instead, that way I had control of ingredients and could experiment to find a great flavor. The one we are enjoying right now is salted caramel coffee syrup. It’s delicious and it’s pretty easy to make. It’s also perfect with a slice of coffee cake.
To store my syrup I used SKS Clear Glass Beverage Bottles w/ White Metal Plastisol Lined Lug Caps. They were very affordable and work perfectly for this recipe.
These glass bottles filled with some salted caramel coffee syrup would make great holiday gifts for a coffee lover. Just add a cute tag, throw in some delicious coffee and you have a wonderful gift.
I really liked ordering from SKS Bottle and Packaging. They offer over 6,000 containers and closures online. They everything from blue, amber, and clear glass bottles to green, amber, and natural plastic bottles and jars. It’s a great place to check out when creating some DIY projects and gifts.
One of the things I really like is most SKS glass jars are made in the USA and are 100% recyclable. That’s something that is very important to me.
It was really easy to order the bottles. The website is easy to use and includes all of the information you need.
The bottles came quickly and were well packaged so nothing was damaged. It was also very efficient packaging, while everything was well packed there wasn’t extra unneeded packaging and waste involved.
I’m really happy to have found SKS Bottle and Packaging. I’m sure I will be ordering more in the future. I’m also excited to come up with more projects for the SKS Clear Glass Beverage Bottles I purchased for this recipe. They are perfect for sauces, dresses, and more so I’m sure I will find many uses for them.
Now that you know a good option for how to store and/or give this coffee syrup as a gift, it’s time to learn how to make the recipe.
Salted Caramel Syrup
A sweet and delicious salted caramel syrup that works perfectly for making lattes and other coffee drinks at home.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- In a small sturdy pot, combine sugar and 1 cup of water.
- Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
- Stir occasionally until it comes to a boil. Stop stirring but watch carefully, the caramel can go from perfect to burned quickly.
- Watch for the caramel to turn a light amber color. Once this happens, remove it from heat immediately.
- Very carefully add the second cup of water, it can splatter so use caution.
- Stir in vanilla and salt.
- Allow to cool and then pour the salted caramel syrup into your glass bottle.
- Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of salted caramel syrup to 8 ounces of coffee.
- Store salted caramel syrup in the refrigerator for up to a couple of months.
Notes
This is not a caramel sauce, it's a caramel syrup so it's more of a maple syrup consistency.
Allison Waken
YUM! I have never made my own syrup but this sounds SO good! [client]
Jackie
Will this work if I half it the recipe? I’m making it right now and it’s been boiling for about 5 minutes and is still not turning an amber color.
Lisa Sharp
It should work fine. This is one of those things you just have to be really patient for. Watch it carefully because it will burn quickly once it does turn amber.
Allie
Just made this, and I was truly skeptical when I got to the part of the boil where all the water is evaporated and all that’s left is sugar but… Omg this is amazing. Patience is key, and this comes out perfectly! I had a few sugar clumps after adding water, vanilla and salt, so I just put it back on the burner on low until they were gone. This recipe is to die for, I’ll always have some on hand now!! Thank you!
Lisa Sharp
I’m so glad you like it!
Tracy
Would you be able to use this in the same quantity as you would use store bought coffee syrup? Thank you!
Lisa Sharp
It’s been a long time since I’ve used store-bought syrups but I would think it would be about the same.
Care
It takes alot longer then I expected it too to turn amber but it was worth the wait it turned out great
Lisa Sharp
Glad you liked it!
Brad
That’s because a cup of water is far, far more than you need for step 1. All that water has to boil off before the sugar reaches 340 degrees. You really just need to get it wet enough to have some liquid for the sugar to dissolve into.
Lisa Sharp
That is very true for caramel but this is a syrup, it’s meant to be thinner. Like the syrups you buy for coffee from the store.
Brad
Right but the caramelization in the first step has to happen before you thin it back out into syrup which again is why you don’t need near that much water in the first step.
Brad
Steps 1-4 to be more accurate.
Lisa Sharp
Next time I make it I will try it that way but the way I did it in the recipe has always worked fine for me. Thanks for the feedback.
Misti
Great recipe! The flavor is amazing! I made 4 batches for a coffee stand at a school party. Everyone loved it! Thank you!
Lisa Sharp
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Reminds me I need to make some more.
Gretchen G Haskett
Thank you! I like this recipe better than the heavy syrup recipes I found online.
Lisa Sharp
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Barbie Krystel
Hi, just discovered your recipe, and I loved it. Just wanna ask if how long is the shelf life and how should this be properly stored?
Lisa Sharp
Store in the fridge and up to a couple of months. I tend to just smell and look at it before use to make sure it’s still good.
Ziyaad
Is it fine or course sea salt and can i use Himalayan pink salt
Lisa Sharp
I used fine but you could try Himalayan.
Pam
Tasted just like The ones in the store that you pay like $6 for. I was really surprised at the similarity. Really good recipe.
Lisa Sharp
I’m so glad to hear that! I need to make up some more for us to have around. It’s delicious.
Staci
So I used Erythritol. I don’t think it worked, I ended up with a house full of smoke and no amber color. Anyone else have this experience?
Lisa Sharp
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol, it’s not going to work correctly to caramelize. You may look for a keto or low carb option. I haven’t tested this with any artificial sugars so I’m not sure what to suggest, sorry.
Halli
Wht doesn’t this work for me? It’s not a challenging recipe so I’m not sure how I could have messed it up. The first attempt ended in a hard clump of caramel surrounded by liquid.. pouring the second cup of water in just instantly hardened it. The second attempt, i used hot water for the second cup, and now it’s just extremely thin liquid with some hardened caramel bits in the bottom of the pot…. help.
Lisa Sharp
Too much liquid may have evaporated. Some people recommend using a lid to trap the moisture in with the sugar until it melts. You also want to make sure there are no dry spots with the sugar. Too much stirring can also be an issue.Using a lower heat so you can go slower can also help.
Halli
I’m impatient! The syrup ended up setting up just a bit and now seems perfect! I am still curious though what I did on my first attempt that made me fail… any ideas? Thanks!
Lisa Sharp
Glad it ended up working. Caramel can be tricky.
Deborah Spitzer
Will this work with natural raw sugar? I use it for almost everything I make.
Lisa Sharp
It should be fine, it will give a bit of a different flavor but will still be delicious.