Microwave Caramel Candy Recipe - Cooking With Karli (2024)

Caramel Candy has never been easier to make! With just a few ingredients and a few minutes of time you can make rich, chewy caramel squares in your microwave.

Homemade Caramel Candies

I don’t know about you, but I can hardly contain my excitement when a Christmas plate is delivered and they have some homemade caramels wrapped in wax paper on them. They are always the softest, melt in your mouth caramels and I have great news for you..

YOU can make them. Seriously, with just a few ingredients, a microwave and a little stirring you’ve got those decadent caramel squares dreams are made of.

Caramel Candy Recipe ingredients

There is a full list of ingredients with exact measurements in the printable recipe card below.

• Butter– I generally use salted butter, but be warned that salted butter will pop in the microwave when you are initially melting it down. I just place a paper towel over my bowl to avoid a mess in the microwave. You could use unsalted if you have it though. Just add a pinch of salt to the caramel mixture prior to microwaving.
• Sweetened condensed milk– just one 14 oz can.
• Corn syrup– light corn syrup is what we will use. Dark corn syrup will yield a richer and darker flavor and color.
• Brown Sugar– You need brown sugar for this recipe, don’t try and substitute granulated sugar. Trust me, you will be so disappointed!
• Vanilla extract
• flakey sea salt– I use Maldon’s flakey sea salt, I purchased it on amazon.

How to Make Caramel Candy in the Microwave

Making Caramels in the microwave couldn’t be easier. Follow the steps below and you’ll be golden!

1. in a large microwave safe bowl, melt your butter completely. (Please use a heavy duty, microwave safe bowl. The bowl will get very hot. Check the manufacturers website to ensure it is microwave safe to high temperatures.)
2. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup and brown sugar. The mixture will be grainy, but there should be no lumps.
3. Microwave on high for 5 minutes and then stir. Continue microwaving and stirring 1 minute at a time until the temperature reaches 240° on an instant read thermometer. (see below for instructions on how to check doneness without a thermometer.)
4. Pour the mixture into a buttered 8×8 pan. Allow the mixture to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes and then place in the fridge for 3 hours.
5. Wait until the caramel is cold before cutting.
6. Cut with a sharp knife in one up and down motion for each cut.
7. Wrap with wax paper and enjoy!

Tips for this Microwave Caramel Recipe

How to check temperature of Caramel Candies

You’ll check if the caramel is done by quickly bringing it down to room temperature and ‘setting’ the caramel to see what the finished texture would be like. To do this, get a bowl of ice water and drop a small amount of the hot caramel liquid into the ice water. When the caramel is ready, the caramel will ball up and be easily pliable between your fingers. If it is still really soft and doesn’t come together in a ball, you’ll need to cook it for longer. If it hardens and is more like toffee, the caramel has been cooked too long.

How to store Microwave Caramels

How to freeze Microwave Caramel Recipe

Yes, you can! Just make sure that the caramel is wrapped well and then in an air tight container.

Check out these other Dessert Recipes

• Sugar Cookie Recipe
• Chocolate Fudge
• Cookie Dough Fudge
• Toffee

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