Sea Salt Caramels

There never seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done that I both need and want to accomplish.  Especially during the holidays.  It's December 23rd and I've just finally done my Christmas shopping.  All I want for Christmas are a few more hours in the day.  Then again, with this recipe, I might have to revisit Santa's knee to change my list.  You won't need to fret over all of the holiday baking that you want to do for your neighbors, friends, co-workers, whoever, because these caramels take all of 6 minutes to make!  Don't worry about needing a candy thermometer, double boiler (doubt you'd ever need one for caramels anyway), or any crazy kitchen equipment, this is seriously EASY. 

Don't expect a hard caramel candy here.  These are soft, and with a light dusting of a coarsely cracked sea salt, well, they're naughty.  Naughty and nice.  Perfect for anyone at Christmas.

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, room temperature (use salted or unsalted)
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 T coarse sea salt (approximate)

In a microwave safe bowl, preferably glass, combine all ingredients except salt.

Microwave on high for 6 minutes.  Stopping every 2 minutes, stir the mixture, making sure no sugar has settled on the bottom, until all ingredients are thoroughly combined and the sugars are melted.

If it looks like your mixture is too grainy and the sugars have not melted, microwave at 1 minute intervals, stirring after each minute, until the mixture is creamy and lump free.

Pour mixture into a well greased 8x8 glass pan.  Please, do not forget to grease your pan.  You'll go insane trying to get the caramels out of the pan before you get a chance to enjoy them, and I really want you to enjoy them!  Once the caramel mixture has been smoothed out and leveled in the pan, sprinkle the coarse sea salt over the top of the caramels.

Allow the caramel mixture to cool and set in the refrigerator for no more than an hour.  Check the caramels, periodically, to make sure they haven't solidified too much, or you'll have a hard time getting the caramels out of the pan.

Once cooled, cut the caramels into bite-sized portions, and wrap individually in wax paper or even cling wrap.

Store, refrigerated, in an air-tight container for up to 3 weeks.

Make, eat, and love!