Easy Peasy Maple Caramels

Easy Peasy Maple Caramel

During the holidays I collected some caramel recipes and played around with them.  I tried some that you cook in a pot, some that go in the microwave, some with all white sugar or brown, some mixed.  The variations are a million of coarse and finding the right one that your family loves is tough. So I did what I do and I played with it. This is me after all.  I took the flavor of this one and the cooking method of that one and the how to wrap from another, and added a little trick of my own and here it is.  The end result is a chewy, creamy maple caramel that I just love!  It is a microwave variation which isn't something you'll find me doing often but when easy is needed, well I have one might as well use it! I have let my older kids make these but as hot as it can get I haven't gone there with the younger chickies just of yet.

Maple Caramel

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup organic salted butter
• 1/2 cup organic maple syrup (darker the better)
• 1/2 cup organic morena sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown organic  morena sugar
• 1/2 cup organic sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

• Line  an 8 by 8-inch baking dish with parchment paper by placing two pieces crossing each other with long ends hanging over the sides. Place butter in a large microwave safe glass bowl  (this will get hot enough to melt some plastics) heat in microwave until melted.
• To bowl with butter, add other ingredients except vanilla, and whisk mixture until smooth. Return to microwave and heat on high for 5 minutes here is when you test it's hardness either with a candy thermometer which should read between 238 - 242 degrees or with a spoon, dip in the caramel and drip a few drops in a bowl of ice water then remove it from the water and it should have become a small pliable ball - nothing too soft or too hard. If it needs a little more time return to microwave and heat in 20 second increments. Time will vary slightly based on the wattage of your microwave and the size of the bowl.
• Use your  hot pads!!! Carefully remove bowl from microwave. Add in vanilla and mix well. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish.  Leave in cool place until set, about 20 - 30 minutes. I didn't like the fridge as condensation formed when I put it in there.  Now this is why you left the parchment long. If all the sides where covered well you can pull up on the paper and lift your caramel right out of the dish. Cut into rectangular pieces, my metal pizza cutter worked wonderfully for this once I buttered it.  I used my unbleached parchment paper to wrap my caramels but wax paper is good too. 
• Note*  I used this same recipe to make a killer caramel corn.  I didn't cool it just poured it on fresh popped corn and carefully mixed it up.  I made about 1 cup un-popped kernels which is a lot but oh so yummy! For smaller batches we eye balled the caramel we put on the corn then cooled the rest to be wrapped later. We also dribbled some on some oatmeal cookies and yes we'll do it again!

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