1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla
flaky salt (optional)
Butter an 8x8 baking dish. Melt the *butter in a microwave safe bowl (I prefer one with a handle). Add the corn syrup, sugars, sweetened condensed milk, and salt. Whisk thoroughly.
Microwave on high for **6-7 minutes. (In my microwave, 6 min 20 sec is just right.)
Use hot pads to remove from the microwave. Stir in the vanilla. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with flaky salt, if desired.
Refrigerate until set, about 30 min. Then cut and wrap in wax paper squares. (I prefer to buy 4-5" pre-cut candy wrapper squares!) Caramels can be cut long and thin or into squares.
*Tip for melting butter without splatter: I set the microwave to power 7, and heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in-between. Melt butter until it's almost, but not quite, completely melted. Then stir until it finishes melting.
**The first time making caramels in your microwave, test the temp of the mixture after microwaving for 6 min. It should be 238-242 degrees on a candy thermometer.
Recipe and photo from cookingclassy.com
