Step 1. Assemble the ingredients. Butter, white sugar, brown sugar, light corn syrup, vanilla, sweetened condensed milk, coarse sea salt, chocolate chips, canola oil, chopped nuts, & decorating sprinkles (not pictured)
Step 2. Cook the caramel.
- Combine the sugars, corn syrup, vanilla, butter, and sweetened
condensed milk in a microwave proof bowl. The bowl should be at least 2
quarts to allow for the caramel to expand as it cooks.
- Cook it in the microwave on full power for 6 minutes (for soft &
chewy texture) or 7 minutes (for firm yet still chewy texture),
stopping and stirring thoroughly twice during the cooking time (every
2-3 minutes).*
*TIP: ADJUST COOKING TIME FOR YOUR MICROWAVE WATTAGEThe
recommended cooking times in this recipe are based on my 1100 watt
microwave. If yours has a different wattage, you will most likely need
to adjust the cooking time accordingly. (I found my microwave wattage on
a label that is visible on the inside of the microwave.) Because
microwaves vary, there may be some trial and error involved to determine
exactly the correct cooking time.
Click here
for a cooking conversion chart for different wattages that I found
online. I don't know if the chart is perfectly reliable, but it may give
you some guidance in making adjustments.
Your caramels should be chewy and easy to eat--not a challenge to
your dental work! If they turn out too hard, you need to reduce the
cooking time. If they're too soft, increase the cooking time.
Step 3. Pour the hot caramel into a mold. I'll demonstrate 2 options.
OPTION 1 -- A Baking dish
- Line an 8x8 baking dish with aluminum foil, making sure the foil extends up the sides. Coat the foil with cooking spray.
- Pour the hot caramel into the dish and put it in the refrigerator until it is firm enough to cut, 40-60 minutes.
- Remove from the fridge. The firmed up caramel will have taken the
shape of the dish, so you can lift by the foil edges to remove the
entire piece at one time. Peel off the foil.
- Use a large knife to cut the caramel into whatever size you prefer.
The photos below illustrate cutting 40 pieces or 24 pieces. If the
cooking spray has made them too oily, blot caramels with a paper towel.
Hint: Put the caramel on a sheet of parchment or waxed paper for
easier cutting and removal later. Otherwise, it may stick to the cutting
board.
OPTION 2 -- Use mini ice cube trays for molds
- After microwaving the hot caramel, let it cool for 10 minutes so
that you don't melt the plastic tray. Coat ice cube trays with cooking
spray. Spoon caramel into the ice cube sections. I used a small scoop to
simplify the task. One batch of caramel yielded 30 mini cube caramel
candies.
- Refrigerate until firm.
Click here for Amazon link to mini ice cube trays.
Click here for Amazon link to small scoop.
- Remove from fridge and flip trays over, twisting and tapping until
caramels fall out. I placed them on a piece of parchment paper to
prevent sticking. If the cooking spray has made them too oily, blot
caramels with a paper towel.
Step 4. Sprinkle generously with coarse sea salt. Press it in gently.
Step 5. Wrap individual pieces in parchment or waxed
paper and twist the ends. Store in fridge or at a cool room
temperature. Parchment paper worked the best for me--the caramels
release easily without sticking. 4" x 3" paper rectangles are the
perfect size for wrapping 40 lof these log-shaped caramels cut from an
8" x 8" square pan. Store in fridge or at a cool room temperature.
Love that sweet & salty combo. Yum!
Update about shipping: I had a question about
shipping these in the comments section, and I thought this was worthy of
mention here so you don't miss it. If you want to ship the salted
caramels, I recommend the plain, log-shapped ones pictured above,
individually wrapped in parchment paper and twisted on the ends. The
wrapping helps the caramels keep their shape and keeps them from
sticking together. I don't recommend shipping the decorated caramels
illustrated below. They may lose their shape if they get too warm during
the shipping process.
Here are some optional ways to add different flavors, colors, and textures to your caramels.
Drizzle with melted chocolate.
Add 1 tablespoon of canola oil to 1 cup of chocolate chips and
microwave at 20 second intervals, stopping to stir each time, and
continuing to cook just until melted--approx. 60 seconds total.
Drizzle on the chocolate with a spoon, or use a squeeze bottle. An
alternative to the bottle is to put the melted chocolate in a plastic
ziploc bag, push the chocolate down to one corner, twist the top of the
bag, snip a small hole in the corner of the bag, and squeeze the
chocolate out through the hole.
While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle on some coarse sea salt, if desired. Here are the ice cube tray caramels:
And, here are caramels formed in the 8x8 baking dish and cut into 24 pieces:
Add decorating sprinkles.You can add decorating sprinkles in holiday or any theme colors.
Add chopped nuts.Add nuts for some crunch and yum. These taste like turtle candies.
Make a variety.Using
the ice cube tray molds makes these uniform in size and shape. Add a
variety of toppings and arrange them in a single layer in a small box.
They'll look like they came from a candy store!
Storage. Caramels
are sticky and easier to remove if arranged so they don't touch each
other and are stored on parchment or waxed paper. Wrap individual
caramels in parchment or waxed paper or place in single layer on top of
parchment/wax paper in covered container. Store in fridge or at a cool
room temperature. They will lose their shape if they get too warm.
Refrigerated caramels are too stiff to eat and should be brought to room
temperature before eating.
Caution about paper candy cups: I tried inserting the caramels into 2
different kinds of paper candy (mini muffin) cups with mixed results.
The caramels stuck to one kind and were impossible to remove without
making a mess; but they released fine from the other. These foil ones
worked the best of the ones I tried. Cutting small pieces of parchment
paper to set them on works even better.
Here's the best part...biting into one of these gooey, chewy, creamy treats. SO, SO GOOD. Too good to be this easy!
http://www.theyummylife.com/Microwave_Caramels
