Hi y’all! I’m Marye from Restless Chipotle, back again to share something yummy! These easy microwave salted caramels are perfect anytime. I love sweets… I love them way too much, as a matter of fact. I’ve made homemade candy for Christmas and special occasions for years but I’m making it more often now — for no reason at all except that it’s delicious!

I love salted caramel, don’t you? I wanted to make some this week but I didn’t want to drag out the heavy pot, the candy thermometer, and the whole shebang. Plus, we are now flirting with 100 degree days here in Dallas so I didn’t want to heat the kitchen up, either. As I was paging through Pinterest (Can we page through things now or is it just surfing?) I saw these microwave caramels on Spend with Pennies.

What a great idea! All the flavor without creating Dante’s Inferno in the kitchen.

Although the recipe didn’t call for salt I decided to use some of my vanilla salt crystals to add that salty-sweet combination that I love. You know what part of this recipe takes the longest?

Waiting for this stuff to cool!

The recipes instructs you to microwave it for 6 minutes, stirring every minute and a half. I followed it exactly but I think my caramels were just a touch harder than I like. You might try stopping it at 5 minutes if you like softer caramels.

Be sure to grease your pan well. I had a little trouble getting the caramels out so I think next time I will grease the pan, add parchment paper, and then grease the parchment before I add the salted caramel goo stuff. Also, when you’ve cut the candy after it’s cooled wrap it in parchment or it will attract moisture in the air and get sticky.

Vanilla salt is like a fleur de sel with pieces of vanilla bean in it. It has a faint vanilla flavor and scent and I love it on caramel and chocolate. If you can’t find it locally you can get it on Amazon. Just sprinkle it sparingly on the caramel when it is set but still quite warm. Press it in gently. The caramels in the image have a lot of salt on them — honestly that is so they would look better in the pictures. Just sprinkle a little of it on top.

By the way, the black specks are pieces of vanilla bean, not anything gross.

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Microwave Salted Caramels

Chewy, creamy caramels, made in a microwave in just 6 minutes. If you like that sweet-salty flavor you can sprinkle the caramels with just a touch of vanilla sea salt.

Course Candy

Servings 8 x8 square (36 pieces)

Calories 66kcal

Author Marye Audet

Ingredients

• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup corn syrup
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
• Vanilla Sea Salt for sprinkling

Instructions

• Generously butter an 8x8 inch pan.
• Mix all ingredients in a large microwave safe bowl
• Microwave on high for 6 minutes, stirring every 90 seconds.
• Pour into a small buttered dish.
• Let cool for about 5 minutes, or until set.
• Sprinkle salt crystals sparingly over the top.
• Press in gently.
• Let cool completely.
• Cut into small squares.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 66kcal | Carbohydrates: 12.4g | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1.6g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 38mg | Sugar: 9.8g

If you liked these easy, microwave  salted caramels you may like these recipes from my blog, Restless Chipotle. And, be sure to find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Creamy Pecan Pralines

No Bake Chocolate Billionaires

Grilled Dessert Nachos

This awesome post has been shared with Home Stories A to Z

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The Popcorn Secret That No One is Telling You

If you knew this secret already, shame on you for not sharing it sooner. Everyone should have access to wonderful popcorn at home.

My love for popcorn began at the movies. My sister’s and I love to go to the movies. As you know, we don’t live close to each other. When we do get together, we almost always go to the movies at least one time, if not more.

Once, we decided to see how many movies we could see in one day. We got out the newspaper (that is how people used to find movie times before the Internet. Anybody remember the TV Guide?), and mapped out showtimes and locations.

We calculated which movie to see first, how long the movie was, and how long it would take to travel to the next location. We quickly realized in order to meet our goal of six movies, we were going to have to see one or two movies we weren’t really interested in, and we needed to see two movies at one location, then go to another location and watch two movies and back to the original location.

It took something like one tank of gas and 3 or 4 movie theaters to make it work. But we did it, starting at 10 a.m.

We were a little bleary eyed, and after eating movie popcorn all day in lieu of anything that resembled a meal (like we had time for that), we became movie popcorn connoisseurs. I don’t know if it is just nostalgia, but it seems like movie popcorn used to taste more fresh and natural.

I have been on the hunt to make popcorn that tasted as good as what I remembered as a kid for years. I finally happened on it when I found Farrell Family Living Journal’s article about movie theater popcorn.

After reading about tons of methods and tons of ingredients, I found they were using one I wasn’t aware of. And it made all the difference! Simple, fresh tasting popcorn that was just like I remembered it.  So what’s the Popcorn Secret That No One is Telling You?

Morton Popcorn Salt. One local grocery store used to sell it, but I haven’t been able to find it there for over a year. Now I can only find it at Walmart, Target, or online.

Stock up and be prepared, because once you use this to make popcorn for your family, you will be making it all the time. My family likes this way better than movie popcorn.

What is so different? Salt is salt, right? Wrong. This salt is super fine. It sticks to the popcorn so instead of all the big granules of salt sinking to the bottom of the bowl, this salt sticks like more of a powder to the popcorn.

And that my friends is the Popcorn Secret That No One is Telling You. Simple right?

So instead of going out, rent a flick, stay home and enjoy. Not only will you save money skipping the theater, but the popcorn is way less expensive too. And you can see way more movies in one day at home. Go ahead and beat our record. I dare you. Just make sure you have enough popcorn on hand, or it won’t be an authentic movie experience!

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The Popcorn Secret That No One is Telling You

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup popcorn - Orville Redenbacher Original is our favorite
• 2 Tablespoons oil - peanut vegetable, coconut, canola - whatever your preference
• 2 Tablespoons butter - the real stuff
• Morton's Popcorn Salt

Instructions

• Put oil and butter in a large heavy bottom pot over medium heat until oil is heated and butter is melted.
• Add popcorn and cover with a lid, leaving an opening for steam. I use an oversized lid so the steam can escape, but the pot is covered.
• As the kernels begin to pop shake the pan slightly. When the popping slows down, remove from heat. I let mine sit for a bit in case there are any kernels that are still popping.
• I pour a third of the popcorn into the bowl, salt to taste, and then repeat with the remaining popcorn.

How about a sweet treat to go with your salty popcorn? Try these!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheerio Chunks

Ritz Rolo Sandwich Cookies Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownie Truffles

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