I bought some salted caramel sauce earlier this summer at the grocery store, and I could hardly tell that it was salted! So I made a note to try making a homemade salted caramel sauce sometime, and I finally had the chance. This Easy Salted Caramel Sauce is definitely salted and has a great buttery, sweet-salty flavor!

My recipe uses both granulated sugar and brown sugar–if you use dark brown sugar (see jar of sauce right behind the plate of apples in the photo), your sauce will have a darker color and just a very slightly stronger caramel flavor. If you use light brown sugar (see jar of sauce in background), your sauce will be lighter in color and slightly more buttery in flavor. I’ve made it both ways and I like both–the difference is not that big and the caramel sauce tastes great both ways!

Use this caramel sauce as a topping over ice cream, as a fruit dip for apples or pears, or drizzle it over cakes or muffins…it adds a great flavor when you’re wanting something sweet, salty, and caramel-y! I like drizzling it over apples, and the apples I used here are called SweeTango® apples (I received a few complimentary apples to try out), which are crisp and sweet with a little tart punch. They tasted great with this caramel sauce!

EASY SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE by NancyC

Makes about 2 cups

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed dark or light brown sugar (dark brown sugar with give you a deeper-colored caramel sauce)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup half and half (light cream)
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, cut into slices
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt or sea salt (for less of a salted flavor, just use 1 teaspoon)

Mix the sugars, heavy and light creams, and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir gently for 15 minutes while ingredients are melting and cooking–mixture will thicken slightly. Turn up heat to medium and cook for another 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, as mixture comes to a full boil. Then let mixture continue boiling for an additional 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove sauce from heat and stir in salt. Cool caramel sauce for about 15 minutes and pour into a canning/mason jar.

Use caramel sauce warm or let cool in jar another 15 to 20 minutes before storing in the refrigerator, tightly covered, until ready to use. The caramel sauce can be stored up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

To reheat, place uncovered jar in microwave and heat for 30 seconds; remove and stir sauce, then heat for an additional 30 seconds (or longer, if needed) and stir again before using.

I love the flavor of caramel, especially in the fall. You can’t beat caramel and apples together! Do you have a favorite caramel treat?