Made From Scratch: Easy Bourbon Caramel Sauce

I've posted a few other caramel recipes on the blog, but I think I love this one the most because it takes only a few minutes and involves zero candy thermometers. The recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman, but I took it up a slight notch with the addition of bourbon after the caramel sauce has thickened. This step is entirely optional, but I think the bourbon adds a nice additional layer of flavor to the sauce.

This rich and thick caramel sauce is delicious served warm over ice cream (or a slice of warm apple pie, or bread pudding, or cheesecake, really, the options are endless). But it's also a key component of the truly decadent cookie bar recipe I have coming up for you next.

Easy Bourbon Caramel Sauce (printer-friendly version)

makes about 1 cup

1 cup light brown sugar

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

pinch fine sea salt

1 tablespoon bourbon [optional]

1. In a medium sauce pot, stir together the brown sugar, butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and fine sea salt. While whisking constantly, heat the ingredients over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue cooking until the mixture thickens, 5-7 minutes. 

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the bourbon.

3. Use immediately or refrigerate until cold. 

(lightly adapted from this recipe from The Pioneer Woman)

Made From Scratch: Bourbon-Vanilla Caramel Sauce

I made a batch of caramel sauce last summer, and this time I thought I'd take it up a notch by adding in some bourbon and a pinch of salt. This caramel sauce would make an excellent present -- all you need to do is tie a ribbon around the jar and you've got a homemade gift ready to be given. (Or, bring a gallon of vanilla ice cream along with the caramel sauce to a holiday party, and you've got an instant-sundae bar!)

Bourbon-Vanilla Caramel Sauce (printer-friendly version)
makes about 2 cups (enough to fill three 8-oz jars)

2 cups raw sugar
1/2 cup filtered water
1 cup organic heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise, beans scraped out and reserved
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons bourbon
pinch sea salt

1. Add the sugar and water to a 2-quart sauce pot. Cook until the mixture is dark amber in color, gently swirling the pot (do not stir) over the burner. This process should take about 20 minutes.
2. Reduce the heat to low. While stirring vigorously, slowly add in the heavy cream. Then add in the vanilla beans, vanilla bean pod, lemon juice, butter, and bourbon. Stir to combine. Add in a pinch of sea salt.
3. Pour the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into (cleaned and dried) jars. The caramel sauce will keep, refrigerated, for up to one week. Reheat before using.

(adapted from this Martha Stewart recipe)

Made From Scratch: Caramel Sauce

During last week's heat wave (in which our air conditioning was not working, so awesome) we were on a bit of an ice cream kick, and we even made a round of homemade vanilla bean ice cream one night when our half-gallon of Breyer's ran out. Thought I typically don't mind eating my ice cream plain, for some reason caramel sauce just sounded like a really good idea. I took a look at the ingredient lists of the caramel sauces for sale at the grocery store, and I was not impressed.

Not one to be daunted, I decided to make some caramel sauce from scratch instead. A quick Internet search led me to the Barefoot Contessa's recipe for caramel sauce, and let me tell you, the final result is good. Like, really good. I followed the recipe to a T, though I found that it took about double the time indicated for the sugar to turn brown in color. Long story short, if you're in the mood to take your ice cream to a whole new level, I highly recommend making your own caramel sauce from scratch. It's just that ridiculously good.