Coconut Caramel Chews
I ran across this recipe while searching for microwaveable desserts. It combines caramel candies, white chocolate, coconut, and peanuts. Since I was looking for a recipe that didn’t contain nuts, I just omitted them from this recipe.
In a two quart microwave-safe bowl, I added caramels, white chocolate chips, and coconut. The recipe called for 5 ounces of 
caramels or 24 pieces. I’m not sure what kind of caramels they were, but I used Kraft soft caramels and there were about 18 candies in 5 ounces. I made a double batch though, so I think I used 40 caramels. After a minute in the microwave, the white chocolate was starting to melt, but the caramels hadn’t melted at all. After another minute in the microwave, I realized I had to smoosh the caramels with the back of my spatula to incorporate them into the white chocolate and coconut. It took a few more minutes, but eventually it all blended together. >>
As I mentioned, I made a double batch, so I had spread the mixture into a 9×13 pan lined with plastic wrap and sprayed it with cooking spray. I found it much easier to use my hands to do this, even though the mixture was a little hot. I had to spread it fairly thin (1/4 inch) to get it to cover the pan. Then I sprinkled coconut on top and pressed it into the caramel chews.
After the candies cooled, I peeled the plastic wrap off and cut them into bars. I would say cutting them into 1 inch squares, as the recipe recommends, would be a pretty small piece. I cut 48 pieces from a double batch, which I thought was a nice size serving. The bars turned out sweet and chewy. I was really surprised at how much you could taste the white chocolate through the caramel. It gave a nice, rich undertone to the caramel.
Also, I was curious how the bars tasted with the peanuts, so I saved a little glob when I poured it into the pan and mixed nuts into it. It was outstanding with the nuts! Seth thought it tasted like a Payday candy bar with coconut instead of chocolate. I will definitely have to make them with peanuts next time. And maybe drizzle a little melted chocolate on top of the coconut. Yum!