Glad you asked! There are a few ways to melt Peter’s Caramel for dipping. But our favorite way is in the oven.
How to Melt Peter’s Caramel in the Oven:
- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F.
- Place the entire 5 lb. loaf into a french oven or a large stock pot.
- Once the oven has heated, place the french oven or stock pot loaded with the caramel inside for 60-90 minutes.
- Check the caramel at 45 minutes, (because some ovens are hotter than others), and then again at 60.
- When the caramel has completely melted, remove the french oven or the stock pot from the oven.
- Place the melted caramel in the pot onto the stovetop. You can drip right out of the pot!
Why We Love This Method:
- 1. Because it takes 60-90 minutes to melt, you can place the caramel in the oven and walk away! Since you don’t have to sit and stir the caramel on the stovetop, you have time to do other things: prep your apples for dipping, read a book, take a nap, etc…
- 2. The caramel doesn’t burn. Unless of course, you leave it in the oven too long. The stovetop method needs constant attention so that the caramel won’t burn. The oven doesn’t.
- 3. Not as messy! As you all know, caramel is sticky. And sticky means messy. But since you place the entire loaf into a pot and let it melt, the cleanup is a lot easier. If you don’t need all of the caramel, pour what is left into an air-tight container. It keeps forever!
It’s that simple! Have you ever melted Peter’s Caramel this way? What’s your favorite method?
Christine
December 26, 2020 at 4:43 pmI used this carmel & added white chocolate *& alittle eax specific for candies. Then I ciated pretzel sticks with carmel & rolled them in pecans. Then I melted chkcolate melts & drizzled them. After the choc drired, I turned them over & drizzles the other side. I called them Pretzel Turtles. Also used Nuts. Most people LOVED the Pecans out of all the goodues I made. It was a hit.
Dana Lopez
October 6, 2019 at 4:20 pmHello. What type of cream do you use to thin down the caramel?
Thank you.
candaceheward
December 18, 2019 at 9:05 pmHeavy cream, if you have it! But you can also use milk in any form – skim, whole, coconut, almond! Any of them work!
Diana Jankowski
January 17, 2019 at 9:59 amGood morning
I’m doing a chocolate Carmel cake, and wondering if after melting (and slightly cooling) would the Carmel be good as a drizzle or drip down the sides?
Thank you in advance.
connie
January 17, 2019 at 2:30 pmHi Diana,
The caramel would be great to drizzle down the sides. I would suggest adding a little cream to the caramel, a Tbsp per cup of caramel, to make it a little bit runnier to use as a drizzle. Hope that helps.
Carol
December 15, 2018 at 12:07 pmI heard add white chocolate to the caramel for making apples. Does this work and how much to five pounds of caramel? Thanksi
Annisa Johnson
November 30, 2017 at 2:19 pmNo they were not in the refrigerator the caramel was laid out on a table on tin foil. But good to know about the freezer and refrigerator issues with the caramel.
Annisa Johnson
November 30, 2017 at 8:59 amWe used Peter’s caramel for our turtles last year in place of the Kraft caramel squares. We cut small squares and then melted the squares and the pecans in the oven for between 4-8 minutes. However unlike the kraft caramel the turtles never really set up with Peter’s caramel. Only the tops of the turtles were covered with chocolate and the caramel is exposed on the bottom so it stuck to everything. Can you advise what we should do differently to make the caramel set up and be less sticky?
Heather Smith
November 30, 2017 at 1:23 pmthanks for the message! We love that you are trying things out with Peter’s caramel! It sounds like somewhere in the process some moisture was introduced to the caramel. Did they get placed in the fridge or freezer somewhere in the process? We’ve noticed if we left caramel apples in the fridge, anything not coated with chocolate can be a little sticky!
Brenda
October 24, 2017 at 3:16 pmI melt mine in the microwave. I use a plastic bowl add caramel and a little milk. I stir it every 30 seconds after the first minute. Until caramel and milk are combined well and then it drizzles over popcorn or whatever very smoothly. Takes about 2 minutes.
Heather Smith
November 2, 2017 at 2:49 amWe agree, this is a great way to heat up, thin down and pour over popcorn!
Mildred
December 29, 2016 at 1:33 amHi,
A lot of recipes call for the small wrapped caramel squares. When I use peters caramel, do I need to adjust cream/butter measurements?
Thank you for your time,
Mildred
Heather Smith
February 21, 2017 at 5:15 pmdepending on the recipe. most cases i just melt and use, but to get it to flow a bit more i do add cream to the caramel
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