Salted Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• ½ cup heavy cream, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of flaky sea salt (plus more for topping if desired)

Instructions

1. Combine Sugar and Water
In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, mix together the granulated sugar and water. Stir just until the sugar is moistened and looks like wet sand. This helps the sugar dissolve evenly.

2. Dissolve the Sugar
Place the saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar completely dissolves and the mixture starts to bubble, about 3-4 minutes. Once it starts bubbling, stop stirring! From this point on, you can gently swirl the pan if needed, but no more stirring or the sugar may crystallize.

3. Caramelize
Continue cooking over medium heat without stirring, just gently swirling the pan occasionally to ensure even cooking. Watch closely as the mixture thickens and transforms from clear to golden to a deep amber color, like honey, this will take 8-12 minutes. The color tells you everything, you want a rich amber, not too light (won't have enough flavor) and not too dark (will taste bitter). Remove from heat as soon as you hit that perfect amber color.

4. Add the Butter
Immediately add the butter pieces to the hot caramel. The mixture will bubble up vigorously, so be careful! Whisk constantly until the butter is completely melted and incorporated into the caramel. It will look smooth and glossy.

5. Add the Cream
Remove the pan from the heat. Slowly pour in the heavy cream while whisking continuously. The caramel will bubble up again, this is normal! Keep whisking until all the cream has been incorporated and the sauce is smooth and uniform in color. If you see any lumps, just keep whisking, they'll dissolve.

6. Finish with Vanilla and Salt
Whisk in the vanilla extract and a pinch of flaky sea salt. Taste and add more salt if you like it saltier, I love a good balance of sweet and salty!

7. Cool and Store
Let the caramel sauce cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, it will thicken as it cools. Then pour it into a clean glass jar or container. Allow it to cool completely to room temperature before covering and storing in the refrigerator. The sauce will thicken more as it chills.

8. Serve and Enjoy
Drizzle this gorgeous caramel sauce over ice cream, cakes, brownies, pancakes, waffles, apple slices, or stir it into your coffee. You can even eat it by the spoonful, I won't judge!