Microwave Dulce de Leche Caramels

CaramelEasy

Feb 6

This is happening.

Let’s talk about dulce de leche—a rich, creamy, caramelized milk that’s basically what happens when regular milk decides to live its best life. It’s sweet, it’s smooth, and it’s the flavor equivalent of a warm hug from someone who smells like cookies. Now imagine taking that magical stuff and turning it into a soft caramel. Are you drooling yet? Because you should be.

Did I mention these are made in the microwave? I am usually not a huge fan of microwave caramels because the caramel just isn’t that… caramel-y. The sugar just doesn’t have time to do it’s thing and it tastes that way too. I said what I said. BUT, when you use dulce de leche, a caramelized milk to start with, then that caramel flavour is already there. So let’s get zapping our way to these chewy and buttery delights!

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Ingredients Explained:

Dulce de leche
You can either buy a 13oz can (it will be where the sweetened condensed milk is sold) or, you can make it by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk until it turns into dulce de leche. If you’d like to make it, I have the recipe here.
Butter
Gives that signature flavour and chew. I use salted, because that’s what I always have and quite honestly, caramel can always use salt.
Brown sugar
Put your best foot forward! We are using brown sugar so that there is a more deep, rich caramel-y flavour.
Corn syrup
We are using a lot of corn syrup in order to prevent crystallization here. Because we are starting off with dulce de leche and brown sugar, which are very prone to burning, we will need to stir this mixture, which as you know, isn’t that desired in candy making. Enter corn syrup. We need this corn syrup to help interfere with any sugar crystals trying to crystallize.
Vanilla & salt
Flavour! Use the best vanilla your budget allows and add it at the end so that the flavour doesn’t burn off. As for salt, I use two types here: Regular old table salt in the caramel and then flaked sea salt for sprinkling on the top afterwards.

Tools required:

A medium/ large microwave safe boil. Your mixture will boil up a bit so make sure there’s some room in your bowl.
2 wooden spoons or spatulas. You’ll switch to a new one once your sugar crystals have melted in order to prevent crystallization.
Microwave - yep, need one of those.
Thermometer (optional) - I used a digital thermometer so it was very easy to take out and put in the bowl to test the temperature. If you do not have or want to use a thermometer, that’s fine, just use the water test, by dropping a blob of caramel into cold water. See if it forms a soft blob and cook according to your preference of chew.
Baking dish lined with tin foil or wax paper then greased. I used an 8 x 8 pan, but you can use a larger pan, your caramels will just be thinner.
Wax paper or cellophane to wrap the caramels.

The recipe

Microwave Dulce de Leche Caramels

Ingredients

1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 13 oz can of dulce de leche
1 cup light or dark corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
flaky sea salt

Directions

Prepare your pan. In an 8x8 or 9x9 pan, Insert wax paper or tin foil so you can easily get the caramels out of the pan. Also grease the paper or foil so it easily comes off (I made this mistake, I ended up cutting off the tin foil, so annoying).
Melt the butter in the microwave.
Add in the brown sugar, dulce de leche, corn syrup and salt and stir to incorporate. Microwave on high for 4 minutes.
Take out of the microwave and stir WITH A CLEAN SPOON. You want to avoid incorporating unmelted sugar crystals into your mixture at this point. Microwave again for another 4 minutes.
Take out of the microwave and stir. Microwave again for another 4 minutes.
Take out of the microwave and stir. Now is the time to test for doneness. Insert your thermometer. You are looking for a temperature above 240F. You can also do the water test by dropping a blob of caramel into a glass of cold water. Take out the blob and see if it forms a soft ball.

7. Now you need to use your candy making judgement. If it’s reaching 240F and it’s forming a soft ball, technically they are done. However, they may not be as chewy as you would like them to be. If this is the case, microwave by 1 minute increments, stir then do the water drop test after each additional minute until you get the consistency you want. I ended up cooking mine 4 more minutes and the temperature read 245F. I found they were still very soft but had that pull and resistance that I like. Once you reach your desired chew. add in the vanilla then pour into your prepared pan.

8. Sprinkle with flaky salt and let set at room temperature at least several hours, or to be safe, just let them sit overnight.

9. Cut into desired shape/sized pieces, sprinkle with a little extra sea salt if desired and wrap individually, or store in an air tight container.

Store either at room temperature or in the fridge. Lasts several weeks. You can freeze them, but they may be a little sticky once thawed. Makes 40 plus caramels, depending on the size you decide to cut them.

If your caramels are too soft for your liking after cooling, store and serve from the fridge. They will firm up in the fridge, but once they are at room temperature, they will be soft again. Make a note for next time to cook a little longer.

If your caramels are too firm after cooling, store and keep them at room temperature. You can always microwave them 5-10 seconds before eating if you want to soften them up even more. Make a note for next time to cook them a little less.

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