Quick (and Perfect!) Caramel Sauce

One of the smartest things I ever did was learn how to make perfect caramel sauce. About once a month, I fill a large plastic ketchup dispenser with my homemade caramel sauce, and keep it in the refrigerator. Having this on hand is wonderful for:

• Serving on ice cream and frozen yogurt.
• Drizzling slices of chocolate cake with.
• Pouring into my coffee for instant Caramel Macchiatos.
• Sandwiching between two homemade cookies during dire emergencies.

Seriously, all it takes is 3 ingredients: sugar, butter and cream. Do you need even more reasons to make this?

Homemade Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup salted butter (the salt makes it better, really)
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the cup of sugar over medium heat. Do not stir. I like to swirl the pan around, to ensure even melting. Before long, all the sugar will have melted, and it’ll look something like this:

Cook it some more until it’s a little dark- You want a nice amber color. But don’t overdo it.

Now immediately whisk the butter in. Once it’s all melted, take the pan off the heat, and slowly (!) add the cream, whisking nicely. Don’t stick your face in it or anything, because it will sizzle up.

Let it cool, transfer to a container of your choice, and pat yourself on the back for making perfect caramel sauce.