Six Minute Microwave Caramels

So this week I decided to do a recipe again. I like to keep things super simple and when I found this recipe for microwave caramels I just had to try it. Anyone that has made or attempted to make candy knows the time and difficulty it takes. So here is what you will need

A microwave safe bowl
1/4 cup of butter
1/2 cup of light corn syrup
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of sweet and condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla (optional)

So on to the fun part. I first melted my butter for easier mixing. Then added all ingredients together in my micro safe bowl and mixed well. Now I cooked mine for 8 minutes stirring every two minutes. This is where the trial and error comes in being everyone's microwave isn't the same. The original recipe called for six minutes but after reading comments on the page some people had to increase their bake time due to their caramel not setting stiff enough. Now this was my second attempt because mine too did not set stiff enough the first time. So if it happens to be to stiff decrease your cooking time, not stiff enough increase cooking time.  I decided to use those silicon ice cube trays for my caramels so I greased those up generously so they would be ready to pour my caramel into as soon as it was done. Now some people choose to use 8×8 to 9×13 baking dishes. The smaller the baking pan the thicker the caramels. They then cut their caramels into bite size pieces. Like I stated before I like to make things simple and that is why I used the silicon ice cube trays. No cutting and making a sticky mess. I bought my trays at the dollar tree for a buck each. So back to the task at hand. When your caramels are finished remove from your microwave and stir well. Be careful your bowl will be super HOT! I decided to add some vanilla for extra flavoring or you could add whatever extract that floats your boat. I am going to do orange next time! Next pour the caramel batter into whatever well greased pan or tray you picked. Now I have 4 of those silicon trays various types and it took all four with this recipe. I then placed my trays in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Now if you choose to use a baking dish only leave it in the fridge for about 10 minutes to make cutting less difficult. So after I took them out of the fridge I just popped them right out of those trays onto a piece of wax paper. Then I cut up smaller pieces of wax paper to wrap them in. Now the first batch that I made that didn't set stiff enough I poured it in a mason jar and have been drizzling it over homemade cookies. I am also going to use it as an apple dip and have a few more ideas for it. Nothing goes to waste! I would like to give credit to the page I got this recipe from http://www.food.com/recipe/microwave-caramels-367414