How To Make Caramel Sauce

Caramel is the backbone of caramel sauce, but it’s also ideal for coating nuts, fresh fruit, or the bottom of ramekins for Crème Caramel(pictured above) and other caramel-topped desserts. And it can add a touch of sweet and gooey to anything from cakes and tarts to brownies and ice creams. Contrary to what one might think, making Caramel Sauce at home is not too hard. It just needs some patience, and you need to stand hovering above the stove as sugar can go from Caramel to burnt in no time! I fell in love with the Caramel Apples over at Simply Recipes, so I thought I'd give the Basic Caramel Sauce a try. If you are someone who shares the fear of making Caramel at home, I hope this post helps you to don your apron and start cooking. its caramel time! [Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons]

I looked around at a few other Caramel recipes, and the one that worked was a combination from Ina Garten's recipe and the one at Epicurious. I'm also suggesting some delicious variations at the end, because everyone likes some change, and I am sure you will love these variations!

Ingredients
Yields 1 3/4 cup Sauce

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 vanilla extract

Method
Fill a cup measure halfway with water and put a pastry brush in it; this will be used for washing down the sides of the pan to prevent crystallization.

Mix the water and sugar in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a medium brown, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.

Note: Watch it carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt caramel very quickly. Stand back to avoid splattering, and gradually add the cream and the vanilla extract. Simmer until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth and thick, about 2 minutes.

Serve warm, or add another 1/4 cup of heavy cream and serve at room temperature.

Your basic Caramel Sauce is ready. You can pour it over your choice of dessert and enjoy!

Variations
Cinnamon Caramel Sauce: Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the basic recipe above. This makes for a very flavorful sauce.

Coffee Caramel Sauce: Add 1 Tablespoon of freshly brewed coffee to the basic recipe above and cook as directed. Works great with ice creams and puddings.

Brandy or Bourbon Caramel Sauce: Add 1 Tablespoon brandy or bourbon to the basic recipe above and cook as directed. Perfect for Thanksgiving celebrations!

Orange-Cardamom Caramel Sauce: In a small saucepan, combine 1-1/2 cups fresh orange juice with 2 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. finely grated orange zest, bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Pour through a fine sieve, pressing against the zest to release all the liquid. Stir the strained, reduced orange juice and 4 tsp. ground cardamom into the cooled caramel sauce. A beautiful topping for Coffee Cakes and fruity desserts.

Hope you liked this Caramel Sauce recipe, and the suggested variations. Now go and get your Caramel Apples ready for Halloween this weekend!

For more Holiday inspiration, check out this article on Ideas & Themes for Halloween, and also a list of Easy Halloween Party Recipes

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Peppermint and Vanilla Butter Cookies

Just as wreaths, stockings and mistletoes signify the spirit of christmas, cookies and cakes do their part in spreading the joy all around. As the festival of christmas is just a few days away, people have started baking goodies and packing them in decorative tin boxes and wrapping papers, shipping them across to their loved ones and friends, wishing them joy and success in the days to come. Some flavors and smells reign the kitchens in these festive days, including, but not limited to chocolate, peppermint, vanilla, and of course, gingerbread! Joining in the fun and having found a reason to bake more often, I decided to go for a batch of these beautiful pink and white Swirl Cookies flavored with peppermint and vanilla. I love the candy canes and the beautiful ribbon patterns that they form, but I can't take too much of peppermint in one go. So here's the perfect solution, these basic sugar cookies, with a hint of peppermint and all the goodness of the lovely colors.

Ingredients
1 cup butter or margarine - softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tspn vanilla essence
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tspn peppermint extract
1/4 tspn red food color

Method
Heat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed. Stir in the flour, then divide the dough in half. Stir peppermint extract and food color into one half of dough, while keeping the other part as it is.

Now again divide each color of dough in half (making 2 white and 2 pink parts).

Now take each part of the dough, and roll it on a generously floured surface into a thick cylindrical rope, about 12 inches long. Place 2 ropes, 1 red and 1 white, side by side. Now twist them together with your hands so they get entwined. Repeat with the remaining 2 pieces of dough.

Now make small balls from each double-colored dough, then shape each into a flat cookie shape. You can use a cookie cutter to give them shape, or just grease a steel bowl (katori) with oil and use this to give shape to the cookie. It should be fairly easy to do it with your hands too, just shape them like small cutlets.

Place them about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool completely on the wire rack. There, your beautiful pink and white swirled cookies are ready to add a festive decor to your holiday baking!

Let's relive the spirit of Christmas; bake a batch of cookies and donate them to any organisation and then feel happy on seeing the smiles on the faces of little children. This is my contribution to the "Drop In and Decorate" event started by Lydia, and also to Susan's Christmas Cookies Event. There's no better time than Christmas to share the goodness around, and what better way to gift something than food?!!

Tip: You can store these Peppermint and Vanilla Butter cookies in an air-tight container and refrigerate them for longer use. But it's best to refrigerate the dough until you want to make the cookies rather than storing the cookies themselves.

Update: These beautiful cookies were not only selected as one of the top 10 finalists from over 212 entries in Susan's Eat Christmas Cookies event, it actually won the Best Christmas Cookie award!! Yipppeee!!! I am so thrilled!! Thanks so much to all the judges and my readers, friends, and family who picked out these cookies as the Winner! Thanks a lot to Susan, for organizing this fun event, and also for presenting me with a fabulous Sherry Yard's new cookbook Desserts By the Yard. Now you all can look forward to more delicious desserts on this blog!!

More Cookie Recipes:
Chewy Chocolate-Chip Cookies
Marshmallow and Chocolate Mud Cookies
Delicious French Madeleines

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