This was one of my favorites this year for Christmas! I made one batch after another just having a blast all afternoon! They take hardly any time at all to make, and you can use whatever kind of liqueur you enjoy.

Adding the liqueurs made the caramels just a little softer than usual, and they were so much better than just regular, that I think I’ll keep making them this way from now on! They received rave reviews from the neighbors as well as my hubby, and I had a VERY difficult time keeping out of them myself!

So this year I made 4 different flavors with liqueurs. I used up some dark corn syrup for the first batch and added some instant espresso powder before cooking in the microwave. When the liquid lava came out, I then added the liqueur. It could not have worked better! I was instantly hooked, and rubbed my little hands together like a mad scientist giddy to make more! 😀 

After the first batch worked, I continued on and perused through the liquor cab to see what other flavors I could play with!

I had a tough time deciding, but finally chose Chambord (a raspberry-flavored liqueur), Frangelico (a hazelnut liqueur), and the ever reliable bottle of Amaretto (an almond liqueur). I knew that I had some extra, finely ground almonds on hand, and sprinkled the bottom of that pan with the almonds. That also worked out really, really well!

Instead of using 13×9 pans, or even 11×7 pans, I’ve found that this recipe works extremely well in bread pans lined with foil and sprayed. You can cut them into nice squares this way, too.

The only time consuming part is the cutting of the caramels and waxed papers. But making the caramel itself is super fast and so easy! It only takes a couple of minutes to add the ingredients into a nice big bowl, and just 6 – 7 minutes in the microwave and you’re done! 

You do have to use a heavy, large bowl for this. The bowl will get hot and the caramel bubbles up. So make sure you get out the big, big bowl! 😉 (*Mine is approximately gallon-sized.) 

Just have your pans already lined with foil and sprayed, and you can make batch after batch in no time! 

If you don’t happen to care for some of the flavors that I chose, a nice bourbon with orange zest might be nice. And of course there’s always Baileys Irish Cream, Tequila Rose, chocolate liqueurs, Peach Schnapps, the sky really is the only limit! 😉  

With New Year’s Eve coming up fast and Valentine’s Day soon to follow, I hope that you can find time to squeeze these into your repertoire of new recipes to try! They’re really fun to make, and boy are they ever delicious! You might want to stash a few away for yourself, though! Because once people catch on to these, they disappear FAST! 

So I hope that you have enjoyed my last post for 2014!
Take care all, have a very safe and Happy New Year’s Eve,
and I’ll see you next year! 

Easy Microwave Assorted Caramels with Liqueurs

Cook Time: 6 minutes

Total Time: 6 minutes

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Ingredients

Basic Recipe for One Batch/Flavor:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup light Karo Corn Syrup
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, I prefer Borden's Eagle Brand
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher or sea salt
• 24-36 (4″ x 4″) waxed paper squares
• [br]

For Flavors:

• [br]

Instructions

Line a bread pan with foil. Spray with butter-flavored cooking spray. Set aside.

In large heavy microwave safe bowl, add ingredients *except vanilla and salt. Stir to combine. (*Caramel bubbles up while cooking so make sure you use a large bowl!) Gallon-sized!

Cook on high for 6 minutes, stopping to stir every 2 minutes.

Remove bowl carefully and quickly stir in vanilla and 1 Tbl. liqueur of choice.

Pour into prepared bread pan. Sprinkle top with Kosher or sea salt to taste.

Let cool. Can be refrigerated for a few minutes if your kitchen is very hot and/or humid.

Lift foil from bread pan onto cutting surface. Peel back foil and cut into pieces, wrap in waxed paper, twist ends to close, and store in airtight container.

*Espresso powder is added before cooking. Liqueurs and food colorings are added after cooking.

Notes

Recipe yields anywhere from 24-40 caramels (per batch) depending on the size that you cut them.