Homemade Caramel Sauce

This is the best homemade caramel sauce recipe you will ever make. This recipe is versatile too. Great for ice cream topping, caramel popcorn balls, you can use it in other dessert recipes, for dipping apples/bananas/pretzels in, and on and on. If you need some great Fall ideas, check out my post here.

When making homemade caramel perfect, it comes down to making sure not to over boil it. This is a sugar syrup basically. You can over boil it and it will get to “hard stage” which is not what you want for this recipe. We want is nice and smooth and soft.

So the next time you get a craving for caramel, just make a batch of this up. It keeps in the fridge nicely for 2 weeks. If it starts to get grainy, it is past its good stage in the fridge. This recipe make about 1 quart of sauce. That can be a lot for a little family. You can half this, just remember to use up your other half of the sweetened and condensed milk can in another recipe.

Homemade Caramel Sauce

Emma Drennan

The creamiest homemade caramel sauce you will every make. Perfect for an ice cream topping, dipping fruit/pretzels, and in dessert recipes.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 1 Qt

Equipment

• 1 sauce pan
• wooden spoon, measuring cups

Ingredients

  

• 1 C butter( 2 sticks)
• 2 C brown sugar
• 1 C Light Karo Syrup
• 1 can sweetened and condensed milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

 

• In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, melt butter until it is about half way melted.
  
• Add in brown sugar, and stir well.
  
• Add Karo syrup and still well. Then bring to a boil. This should take 7-10 minutes. Make sure you are stirring slowly. Once it comes to a RAPID boil, take out the spoon and let boil for 15 seconds. NO LONGER!
  
• Quickly stir in the can of sweetened and condensed milk. Stir very well to make sure it is well incorporated. Then bring the sauce back up to BARELY a boil while constantly, gently stirring. Then remove from heat.
  
• Add the vanilla and stir while gazing at the beautiful color of your caramel. Grab some apple slices, close your eyes, and picture what heaven might look like.
  
• Let this cool COMPLETELY before storing. As it cools it will develop a crusty film on the top, this is NORMAL. While it is cooling, stir the caramel every 15 or so minutes to help it cool properly. (if you store this before it is completely cooled, you will get condensation in your container and that will ruin your caramel).

Notes

Store in a glass container or jar with a lid in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.  To re-heat, scoop some out into a microwave safe bowl.  This can be a little tricky because once it’s cooled, it is very sticky of course.  I usually use two metal spoons to spoon into a bowl.  Then depending on how much caramel you need to warm up, I recommend just 10-15 seconds, stir, and then see how much more time you need.

Keyword after school snack, appetizer, caramel, caramel sauce, dessert, dessert topping, ice cream topping

I love to make this and put it in little containers. Then grab a tart apple like a Granny Smith, and surprise your friends and neighbors in the Fall. Your friends will remember this caramel forever.