Salted Caramel Sauce

Caramel sauce might be one of Hubby’s favorite things ever. He will always choose a caramel treat over a a chocolatey treat. I’ve just recently gotten more comfortable making my own caramel sauce. It actually is so much easier than I thought it was. Having a candy thermometer is a must for making caramel at home. But that’s really all you need. If you haven’t made your own caramel sauce, do it. Trust me, it’s worth the minimal effort required.

I ended up making a triple batch of this salted caramel during the holidays. I ordered some cute jars online and gave them away as gifts to some family members. Hubby also enjoyed a bunch of this caramel sauce heated up over vanilla ice cream.

One Year Ago: Crunchy Nut Encrusted Chicken Tenders
Two Years Ago: BBQ Chicken Pizza Sticks

Print Save

Salted Caramel Sauce

Salted caramel sauce is easier to make than you could ever imagine. And it makes a great gift!

Yield: 2 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
1 tsp fleur de sel

Directions:

Add water to a 2-qt saucepan. Gently add the sugar to the center of the pot - it will mound, that's fine. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat.

Once boiling, uncover the pot and insert a candy thermometer. Continue cooking until the mixture registers 300 F and is just starting to develop some color, about 15 minutes.

Reduce heat under the pot to medium and cook until the syrup is amber and registers 350 F on the thermometer, about another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. If it simmers before the syrup is ready, just take it off the heat and set aside.

Remove the caramel from the heat and add about 1/4 of the warm cream to the pot. It will bubble furiously so be careful. Once the bubbling subsides, add the remaining cream. When it stops bubbling, whisk gently to incorporate fully. Add the butter and the salt and whisk to combine.

Refrigerate up to 1 month.

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, as seen on Erin's Food Files

    Pin It

12 Responses to “Sugar Cookie Bars”

  1. #
    1
    Katie — April 7, 2009 at 12:46 pm

    YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY! I love this idea!! 🙂

  2. #
    2
    cateskitchen — April 7, 2009 at 1:19 pm

    Perfect! I crave sugar cookies a lot but just can’t handle the rolling out process sometimes.

  3. #
    3
    wyndesnow — April 7, 2009 at 4:50 pm

    These look yummy! My kids are always asking me to make sugar cookies and I start out strong and by the end am regretting making them. This may be the perfect tradeoff.

  4. #
    4
    madebymel — April 7, 2009 at 7:10 pm

    Yum! These look delicious and way easier than frosting individual cookies!

  5. #
    5
    Kerstin — April 7, 2009 at 11:07 pm

    What a great idea – I rarely take the time to make cookies since bars are so much faster and just as tasty. I love all the sprinkles too 🙂

  6. #
    6
    bcallegra — April 8, 2009 at 1:16 am

    Just the recipe I was looking for – I may have to try it this week as an Easter treat for my coworkers.

  7. #
    7
    Jen — April 8, 2009 at 2:15 am

    Anyone who is thinking about making these definitely should. They’re seriously SO GOOD. I just made them Sunday and I’m making them again for Easter.

  8. #
    8
    Mermaid Sweets — April 8, 2009 at 8:15 pm

    I had the same reaction when they popped up in my google reader – and now again this time. They are on my list!

  9. #
    9
    Dawn — April 12, 2009 at 10:31 pm

    I keep seeing these and now I must try them. I love, no crave, sugar cookies all the time.

  10. #
    10
    finsmom — April 14, 2009 at 4:22 am

    I will be making this soon! Looks incredible!
    Thanks for sharing!

  11. #
    11
    Ingrid — April 14, 2009 at 6:37 pm

    Yum, I’ve made these before. They are excellent and soooo much easier. Yours looks good. I’m going to try them with buttercream instead of cream cheese frosting next time.
    ~ingrid

  12. #
    12
    Hui Min — July 18, 2010 at 6:00 am

    I think it will be better to put up the size of the baking pan too.
    Thank you very much for the recipe. =D

Leave a Comment