Make caramels In The Microwave

Yes, it really is possible to make super yummy sea salt caramels in the microwave.

EASY & DELISH | When my daughter got married last May, she asked her aunt and me to make chocolate bark and fleur de sel caramels for the wedding reception. The bark was no problem; I’d made it before, and nothing could be easier (CLICK HERE for our recipes). The caramels made me nervous. There’s kitchen science involved in producing caramels that are both soft and chewy.

So we put off making these paper-wrapped sweets until a few days before the wedding—then muddled through using a recipe we found on Epicurious.com (CLICK HERE to get it). Only after the big day did I learn that we could have saved ourselves both time and concern by making our candy in the microwave.

Since the wedding, I’ve made Todd’s Kitchen microwave caramels (CLICK HERE to watch his VIDEO) numerous times and like them just as much as the ones I made on the stovetop. I have modified Todd’s recipe, though: I use whipping cream (33% butterfat) instead of condensed milk (Todd’s recipe is too sweet and not creamy enough for me) and stir in a quarter-teaspoon of vanilla bean paste before putting the entire mixture in the microwave.

I sprinkle fleur de sel flakes on top of the caramel slab just as it starts to harden and finish off by pushing a few more salty bits into each of the bite-size pieces before wrapping them up.—Carolann Rule

Photos, top to bottom: via mymansbelly.com, c. rule, via O Magazine online