Homemade Caramel Sauce

Homemade caramel sauce is really easy to make and tastes so much better than the store bought version. I made my own caramel sauce for the first time few years ago and I’ve been hooked on it ever since. Once you make this sauce, you will want to keep it on hand throughout the holidays at a minimum. Just store the caramel sauce in your refrigerator so you’re ready to drizzle over ice cream, add it to hot apple cider or make your own caramel apples. The options are endless!

Homemade Caramel Sauce slighted adapted from The Barefoot Contessa
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup water

1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:

In a medium, heavy sauce pan add the sugar and water. On low heat, heat the water and sugar until the sugar dissolves; approximately 5-10 minutes. No need to stir during this process, just allow the sugar to dissolve on it’s on. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the temperature up to medium and bring to a boil until the sugar turns a pretty amber color. You can use a candy thermometer to gauge the correct temperature which will be 350 degrees or you can use the color test. (At the last minute I used my candy thermometer to make sure I had the sugar at the right temperature. Also note, that hot sugar is not to be toyed with. I burned myself in this process so please be careful!)

Once the sugar turns a nice amber brown, turn the heat off and add the whipping cream and vanilla extract. Be careful with this step because the mixture will bubble up when you add the cream to the hot sugar. Stir the mixture until combined then let sit for at least 4 hours for the caramel sauce to come together. Once completely cooled, store in a class container in the refrigerator. Enjoy with fresh cut apple slices, ice cream, apple cider and more!