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I love caramel. In any form. And these caramel clusters from my childhood are delicious. Soft and chewy with a little crunch.
And they are so easy to make. Only 4 ingredients! The hardest part is not eating the caramels as you unwrap them. I have never accomplished that, so I dare you to try.
These babies are pretty popular in our family because we are pretty much all caramel lovers. They certainly don’t last long.
I hope you find them as irresistible as we do!
NOTE: This recipe has been updated so that the cookies are less sticky, as some have noted.
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Soft and Chewy Caramel Clusters
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 30-34 Clusters
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Soft and Chewy Caramel Clusters are a classic childhood drop candy shaped like a cookie. They’re made from cornflakes and premade caramel candy for a slightly crunchy texture and rich caramel flavor. They’re the perfect treat for caramel lovers!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup of butter
- 14 oz bag Kraft caramels, wrappers removed (about 50 caramels)
- 5 cups cornflakes, can add up to 6 cups if needed
Instructions
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Put milk, butter and unwrapped caramels into a large pot on medium heat. (The pot needs to be big enough to accommodate the caramel mixture and up to 5-6 cups of cornflakes and be stirred easily.) Allow everything to melt, stirring often so that the mixture doesn’t boil.
- When the caramel is melted down and everything is well mixed, add the cornflakes. Start with 5 cups and add up to 1 more cup if there appears to be excess caramel. Mix well so that the flakes are all well coated.
- Scoop out spoonfuls of the coated cornflake mixture onto the prepared baking sheets (use a heaping tablespoon to make 1-inch scoops). You should get about 30-34 clusters.
- Allow to cool fully on the counter. As they cool, they will harden into a soft and chewy cluster.
- Store clusters in a parchment lined air-tight container. If the clusters need to be stacked, place an additional layer of parchment paper between them to prevent sticking. Best when eaten within 7 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cluster
- Calories: 127
- Sugar: 9.3 g
- Sodium: 130.2 mg
- Fat: 3.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.1 g
- Protein: 1.8 g
- Cholesterol: 7.2 mg
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Wasn’t that easy! And soooo yummy!
Do these set up in a way similar to rice krispie bars? I would love to just dump them in a pan and cut into bite sized pieces after they set if that is possible.
I would say yes, that should work.
Hi! Has anyone ever tried adding pecans to this recipe? I’m sure they’d be great. I’d love to hear if anyone has tried it! Thanks
My Mom has made this cookie for years and it’s always a hit. Her recipe adds 1/2 cup shredded coconut And 1/2 cup chopped or halved pecans. They’re delicious. My own tip I’ve figured out is letting them sit out for a bit on the wax or parchment paper to harden, and to flip them over and give the bottom side some time to harden as well. Without flipping them over the bottoms stay sticky.
I bought werthers soft and chewy caramels. I have another question. We have a t.v. Show on DVD called threes company and Jack tripper was making caramel clusters that came out of the oven. How do you prepare it using an oven? I couldn’t find the Kraft candy u said to use . I got my soft and chewy caramels from $ tree and they didn’t have kraft. Only werthers soft and chewy. They also had the hard caramels but they were sugar free. So I stuck with the soft caramels. I only have 2 small bags of caramels to work with. Personally 50 is to many 4 me. How do you prepare these in the oven? Or do you know?
Thanks!
I bought a container of these at a grocery store before Christmas. My family loved them. Of course they had sold out when I returned to the store for more. I grew up with the chocolate & oatmeal no bake cookies, but your recipe is exactly what I’ve been searching for! They are absolutely delicious. A light sprinkle of sea salt on top before they completely set up is that ‘sweet & salty’ taste we all love! Thanks for sharing, Lindsay!
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
I’m planning on making these this weekend. Have you ever tried freezing them?
I don’t think I’ve ever frozen them. They don’t last long enough in our house. 😉
Is there a special trick to keep them from staying sticky? Mine were delicious, ( sprinkled flaky sea salt on them????), but never firmed up enough to not stick to each other on the cookie platter. I refrigerated them, and they firmed up but after returning to room temp were sticky again.
Not really. I honestly don’t have that problem. I mean yes, they are covered in caramel so they naturally have a bit of stickiness, but they shouldn’t be an issue. It’s really just a balance of the caramel mixture to the coconut.
What coconut? It isn’t included in the recipe. No coconut in recipe
You’re right. I got confused between this recipe and a similar one that uses coconut. So in this case it’s a balance of the caramel to the cornflakes. But basically the same idea. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/no-bake-salted-caramel-coconut-macaroons/
I would love to follow you for your delicious recipes
gona make these and dip some in chocolate!
Have you ever used oats instead of the cornflakes?
I haven’t. You’d probably need a good bit more oats and they’d be an even softer and chewier cookie than the cornflakes.
How long are these good for? How would you suggest to store them?
They can actually last quite a while because they’re mostly caramel and cornflakes. I’d say at least a week should deb fine when stored in an airtight container.
Thanks for this! My mother used to make these when I was a kid (a loooooong time ago) as part of our Christmas cookie assortment. I had all her recipe cards after she passed away, but then they got destroyed in a fire (I know, it should be a Lifetime movie). I am a terrible baker, so it’s nice to have some kind of “cookie” I can make!
I’m so glad you’re able to make these cookies again Colette! I hope you enjoy them!
Can you give me an idea of how many caramels this would be? I have some loose at home but no scale to measure them on. Thanks.
It should be about 50 caramels
Do you ever use a frosted flakes cereal? I’m going to make them for my husband, he is a great caramel fan.
Yes, I have! They work great too.
Just made these to go w a coffee tasting I’m doing at my work, Starbucks! So simple and so good! I used generic caramels I found at Target. Worked great!
I’m so glad you liked them Ashley! These seriously are a classic for me – LOVE them!
Simple and so good!
So glad you enjoyed them!
can I just use caramel sauce instead of the caramels
I don’t think caramel sauce would work. The caramel mixture dries to make the clusters but I don’t think it would dry if you use caramel sauce, which is more liquid like than the caramel candies.
Thank you, that helps.
Hi. What about caramels that r soft and chewy. We think those will melt better in a pan. Do you seriously need 50 caramels? I just bought 2 small bags of soft chewy caramels. Will these 2 things b ok?
I do not know which ones you just bought, but the ones that I linked to are the ones to use. I would describe them as soft and chewy. I don’t think there are any other caramels that would work. And yes, 50.
I bought werthers soft and chewy caramels. I have another question. We have a t.v. Show on DVD called threes company and Jack tripper was making caramel clusters that came out of the oven. How do you prepare it using an oven? I couldn’t find the Kraft candy u said to use . I got my soft and chewy caramels from $ tree and they didn’t have kraft. Only werthers soft and chewy. They also had the hard caramels but they were sugar free. So I stuck with the soft caramels. I only have 2 small bags of caramels to work with. Personally 50 is to many 4 me. How do you prepare these in the oven? Or do you know?
Thanks!
There is no need to prepare these in the oven. If you would like a version that needs to be baked, I would look for a different recipe. I do not know that the caramels you bought will turn out well. You are welcome to give it a try.
Ok. I will try the stove top version!
Do the caramels have to be Kraft? I just made a batch using generic caramels and they seem to be sticky still. Any tips?
Hmmm, I’m not sure. I’ve only ever used the Kraft ones. I wouldn’t think that should make a difference though. In general, these are kind of sticky but get less so as they sit and harden.