Just four ingredients, ten minutes, and no thermometer needed. This luscious but also ridiculously easy homemade salted caramel sauce is perfect for topping ice cream, pies, brownies, cookies, cheesecakes, and pretty much whatever else you can think of!

There is just something about a sweet & salty combination that drives tastebuds crazy – pretzels & chocolate, maple & bacon, milkshakes & fries, even peanut butter & jelly. But I submit that nothing tops salted caramel. It’s amazing stuff.

Now I will admit that I haven’t always had the best of luck with candy-making in the kitchen. It’s just not my strong suit, even with a candy thermometer sometimes. But this recipe is so easy and you don’t even need a fancy thermometer to get it to turn out perfectly. The biggest secret is to stay right by the stove when making this so that you can keep an eye on the sugar so it doesn’t burn. As long as you watch your sugar and stir it frequently, you will see it change from white, to light clumps, until it finally starts to melt into an amber-colored liquid. As soon as the sugar is melted, you stir in the butter and let it melt completely, which will only take a minute or two. Then you slowly add in some heavy cream, let the sauce cook for just one minute more, and stir in some sea salt.

This homemade salted caramel sauce keeps well in the fridge for 2 weeks and is a wonderful gift to give a friend. You could use it to dip apples for a quick treat or drizzle it over toasted almond ice cream and sprinkle it with chopped almonds to have one of the best sundaes ever. And it can be used in lots of different baked goods – you could use it in this easy caramel pecan brownie recipe for the caramel recipe if you don’t have caramel candies on hand. And then there is this salted caramel apple pie recipe that uses a batch of this sauce that you are definitely going to want to try!

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Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons salted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Instructions

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook the sugar, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula while it melts. At first the sugar will start to clump together, then it will eventually melt into a light amber-colored liquid. Make sure the heat isn't too high and keep stirring until completely melted so that it doesn't burn.
As soon as the sugar is completely melted, stir in the butter until it is completely melted, about 2-3 minutes. The caramel will bubble up when you add in the butter, so be careful.
Slowly drizzle the heavy cream into the caramel, stirring continuously. It will bubble and sputter again. Once it is combined, let the caramel boil for 1 minute without stirring, then remove from heat and stir in the salt.
Let the caramel cool before serving. It will thicken as it cools. Keeps for 2 weeks in the refrigerator, just microwave it for 30 seconds or so to warm it up before using.

Recipe Notes

Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction.