Salted Chocolate Caramels
I can hardly believe it's almost the end of September already! Thanksgiving is coming, and then Halloween and before long Christmas! Time flies. With my daughter in school and various activities a quick and easy to prepare gift is always a plus. My go-to these days is salted chocolate caramels. So easy to make but so hard to stop eating them!!
Home-made caramels may sound tricky but these use the microwave and are super simple. Trust me! You can either make these in a square pan and then cut them up, or as I do, in a silicone mini brownie pan. I like the pan because they're an even size and because it's one less step (no cutting). Once the caramels have set dip them in some dark chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt. Perfection!!
Salted Chocolate Caramels
1/2 C unsalted butter (don't use salted, it splatters)
1/2 C light corn syrup
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C sweetened condensed milk
1/8 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
4-6 oz dark chocolate
Malton/sea salt
If using a baking dish grease it with butter and set aside. If using silicone molds just set aside.
In a large glass bowl melt the butter in the microwave. Add to it the corn syrup, both sugars, condensed milk, and salt and whisk thoroughly. Return bowl to the microwave and cook on High for 6-7 minutes. Be careful here! The wattage, strength, of your microwave greatly affect your times. Test at the 6 minute mark, the temperature on a candy thermometer should be between 238-242, or place a small spoonful of the mixture in a bowl of ice water, it should form a soft pliable ball). If you need more time return to microwave in 20 second intervals. If your wattage is particularly high I recommend checking at 5 mins.
Once you've reached the right temperature carefully stir in the vanilla and pour into your prepared pan or molds. Cool in the fridge until firm.
When your caramels are ready it's time to prepare your chocolate (if you've used the baking pan you'll need to slice the caramels before melting the chocolate). Roughly chop and microwave the chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring repeatedly, until just melted. Unmold your caramels and dip in the chocolate to coat. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Chill until set.
Once the chocolates are all set and ready to you can keep them for yourself or package them up and give them away as presents. Keep them in the fridge but allow them to warm up a bit before you eat them (softens the caramel).
I would love to see what you've been making. Share your posts on Instagram with #ragebake !