Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

Last week, Jason and I went to dinner with one of our closest friends and you know that feeling you get when you know there might be more to the dinner than there really is? Like all day, I was like, “something is going to happen” or “why do I get this unsettling feeling that my world is going to come crashing down soon?” Well, not totally crash down, but you get what I mean. So, we were talking and catching up and something was said that alluded to ‘colder weather’ and then it happened. They told us they’re moving to San Francisco :'(

Such a bittersweet moment. Of course we’re thrilled for this new adventure that they’re embarking on but my selfishness gets in the way and I don’t want them to leave us! I guess on the bright side, we can always visit them in San Francisco since it’s a very easy plane ride and hello, Napa weekend! It’s definitely a hard pill to swallow when you realize your close friends are moving across the country and you can’t just randomly call them up for lunch anymore but actually have to plan months out, but nonetheless, we wish them the best of luck.

I don’t like when friends move away. Everyone that I know should just bloom where they are planted. Just kidding :) I’m just being emotional.

Okay, so homemade caramel is REALLY easy to make. Sometimes I wonder why I even run to the store to get caramel candies and melt them. Caramel sauce at home is suuuuper easy and really does taste A LOT better than store-bought. It’s got a better consistency and not to mention it’s cheaper! I’m in love with salted caramel so what better way than to make jars of homemade salted caramel sauce?

You’ll want to bookmark this recipe because several upcoming recipes use this homemade salted caramel sauce! Can you tell I was pretty much up to my eyeballs (still am) in salted caramel so I decided I’d drizzle it on everything? You can always cut down the recipe and not make as much as I did but I like having some in the fridge just for those days that you feel like your ice cream or dessert needs a bit of a sprucing!

Before the recipe, I put a step by step on how the sugar meltdown will look. It’ll help you with the process and you won’t doubt yourself! It’s kind of weird in the beginning because everything clumps together and you’re like, “OMG DID I MESS UP?!” so seeing these photos will definitely ease those feelings! Just be patient and you’ll soon get a luscious homemade salted caramel sauce!

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Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

Homemade salted caramel sauce is a decadent treat that you can make for gifts or to keep at home!

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 20 mins

Servings: 1 1/2 cups (approximately)

Servings are adjustable but please note that results, timing, and cookware may vary when adjusting servings.

Author: Julie Chiou

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced into 1-inch cubes
• ▢ 1 cup heavy cream
• ▢ 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt, please see notes

Instructions

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  In a semi-deep non-stick pot, heat sugar over medium high heat, stirring often.
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  The sugar will soon start to clump together. This is ok and what it is supposed to do! (See photos above)
• ▢
  The sugar will soon start to break down into a liquid and you'll want to switch to a whisk to get rid of the clumps.
• ▢
  Once the sugar is in liquid form, you'll want to continue swirling the pot until it boils until it turns an amber color.
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  Once that happens, carefully add the butter. The mixture will hiss and splatter a bit. Continue stirring until all the butter has melted.
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  Once the butter has melted, CAREFULLY add the heavy cream. Since the heavy cream will be cold, your mixture will bubble and splatter a bit as well. Stir the mixture then let boil for 3 minutes.
• ▢
  Remove from heat, stir in the salt, and let completely cool before you pour it into any jars.
• ▢
  Store in the refrigerator and warm up slightly to drizzle or use for desserts.

Notes

Kosher salt and table salt are VERY different. 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt vs. 2 teaspoons of table salt will yield very different tastes. I used Kosher salt. If you don't have Kosher salt, you can use table salt but definitely start at 1/2 teaspoon and go up from there.

This recipe is very versatile as well. If you feel the 'salted caramel' level is not to your taste preference (everyone's is different, my recipe is based on my personal taste preference), please feel free to add more salt or less salt. You should start out with the least amount of salt and build from there. You can always add more but you can't take it out so you don't want to ruin a batch of this by adding too much salt in the beginning!

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