Microwave Caramels

One of the truly decadent treats that my daughter and I make every Christmas is caramels.  We make them on the stove and use unsalted butter, heavy cream, sugar......they taste like Wherther's and are truly amazing.  Everyone is blown away by them.   However, as amazing as they are, it is quite time consuming to make them.

Well, around "blogland", I've seen a lot of recipes for salted caramels along with other twists on the traditional caramel.  I have a few flavor combos that I want to try but I not on "THE" caramel recipe.  I looked around and decided to try making caramels in the microwave first to create a good, quick, easy "base" caramel.  You know what?  You really can make caramels in your microwave!  Not as good as our "stove top" ones but much better than the ones from the store.  You'll love these.

The only tricky part is that different microwaves have different wattages.  Mine is a 900 watt microwave.  To adjust times for your microwave's wattages, you can find a conversion chart here.

Microwave Caramels

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter (NOT margarine)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar (lightly packed)

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

Line an 8 x 8 or 7 x 11 pan with foil. Lightly spray your foil covered pan with oil.

In a microwave safe bowl, combine all of your ingredients. (I used a 1 quart pyrex measurer).

Microwave on high for 8-9 minutes (for a 900 watt microwave or 6-7 minutes for a 1100 watt microwave) , stirring after every 2 minutes for the first 6 minutes and then every minute after that.

Pour your caramel into your prepared pan.  Allow the caramel to cool 30 minutes - 1 hour or until firm.  (You can also place it in the refrigerator to set up).

Once your caramel is set, cut into squares using a sharp knife.

Wrap your caramel in either waxed paper or parchment paper and store in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks.

These are very good and simple.  A word of caution.  If  you do not cook your caramel long enough, it will be soft and sticky and if you cook it too long it will be very hard.  If you are new to caramel making, here is a way you can check for proper consistency.

After cooking for 6 minutes, spoon a small sample in a small bowl of ice water. Allow the syrup to cool for several seconds, then remove the sample from the water and squeeze it to check the consistency. The cooled piece should be firm but not hard.

I've been playing around with some different variations on this microwave caramel recipe.  I'm excited to share some of these with you!

I'm still busy in my holiday kitchen so check back tomorrow for another yummy treat!

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