Editor’s note:
I’m running this recipe today in anticipation of running a
recipe for Outrageous Eskimo Bars on Tuesday. This recipe is a
component of the Eskimo bars, and you’re gonna need it. If I
forget to run Outrageous Eskimo Bars on Tuesday, feel free to mutiny.
The Outrageous Eskimo Bars look truly — well, outrageous.
I gave you a sneak peek
of this simple and delicious caramel sauce on my website (it appears
prominently in this delectable pear
crisp), but since I do truly believe it has a mission
far greater in life than just fruit desserts, here it is posted in
its singular glory.
A few suggestions for
enjoying, if I may?
Apples, apples, apples
(slightly cooled, the caramel sauce is luxuriously thick and perfect
for apple or other fruit dipping)
I have another caramel
sauce (this divine
version; and it is…divine). I’m not
turning my back on it, nosiree, but I do have to say that this much
easier version gives it a quick run for its money. Both of them are
delicious and appropriate for when the time (or lack of time?) is
right, but if caramelizing sugar on the stovetop makes you a bit
nervous, this easy caramel sauce is for you.
I’m always
surprised at the number of times I’m wishing I had caramel
sauce at the ready and the number of times it’s…well,
just not hanging around waiting to be needed. Thanks to this
recipe, caramel sauce is pretty much guaranteed to appear
anytime, anywhere as long as I can finagle 10 quick little minutes
(most of which don’t require stirring or fretting).
With about a million
ways in which to use it, this super simple caramel sauce has won a
permanent place in my heart.
In a medium heavy-bottomed
saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, salt and cream. Melt over low
heat while stirring slowly and gently. Once all ingredients are
melted, increase the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a boil.
Boil for 10 minutes without stirring. Watch the heat closely. If it
seems as though the mixture might be burning on the bottom (which
can often happen if you are using a pan that isn't heavy-bottomed),
reduce the heat as needed.
Remove the caramel sauce from the
heat and carefully stir in the vanilla (stirring vigorously
at this point and/or scraping down the sides can cause the caramel
sauce to develop a grainy texture). Use immediately or let the sauce
cool a bit before pouring into a container to refrigerate. The sauce
can be refrigerated for several weeks.
Recipe Source:
from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (after many batches of experimenting
for a quicker, fuss-free version)
Melanie Gunnell is a food-loving, chocolate-obsessed mom who has a desperate need to share
her favorite tried-and-true recipes with the world. In a past life she graduated from Brigham
Young University with a degree in public health, but for the past ten years, stay-at-home
motherhood has been her job along with blogging-from-home for the past five.
She resides in the brilliantly cold tundra of Northern Minnesota with her husband and their brood
of five children: four boys and one tiny, bossy girl. Dark chocolate (particularly the act of
shoving chocolate chips in her mouth whilst hiding in the pantry) is her coping skill of choice for
both the never-ending winters and the never-ending wrestling matches in her front room.