1 c butter (no substitutes)
2 c packed brown sugar
1c light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 (14-0z) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c coarsely chopped pecans
1 c semi-sweet choc chips
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over med heat. Add brown sugar, corn syrup & water. Cook & stir until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in sweetened condensed milk & vanilla. Cook, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer reads 248 (firm ball stage.) Generously butter a 9x 13" baking pan. Sprinkle with choc chips & pecans. Poor mixture into prepared pan. Cool completely before cutting.
(I omitted the choc chips & pecans in one batch & found it a bit too sweet. Next time I try plain caramels, I'm going to substitute 2 cups cream for the sweetened cond milk.)
