Addictive Salted Caramel-Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

If you've read this blog at all, you probably know that I belong to a group where we mail cookbooks around in a round-robin style. When I got Half Baked Harvest, I kind of skipped past all the harvesting and landed on these cookies.
Oh. My. Heck.

These are insane. They're best when slightly warm so the caramel is a little soft, but if you make them and let them cool - because eating a whole batch would be kind of crazy - you can still have that soft. center. Just pop them in the microwave for a few seconds before serving to get that soft caramel center.

I made a few other recipes from the book, but this is the one I decided to share on the blog. I don't like to share more than one recipe from a book, although most publishers are fine with up to three recipes without special permission.

This one, though, was worth saving, publishing, and making again.

Addictive Salted Caramel-Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
Adapted from Half-Baked Harvest by Tieghan Gerard

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used black cocoa)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
24 to 48 milk chocolate caramels (I used Dove candies that were available for Easter. Dark chocolate caramels would also be nice, and a little less sweet.)
Flaky sea salt, for topping

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, bittersweet chocolate, and chocolate chips. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until fully melted and combined. The chocolate will be thick. Remove the pan from the heat and let the chocolate cool slightly. Note: if you're comfortable melting chocolate in your microwave, you can do that here. Melt in short bursts and stir in between. 

In a small bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together on high until light and fluffy, which should take 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla and the melted chocolate, and beat for 1 or 2 minutes more, until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Note: I did this in my stand mixer, using the paddle. 

Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Beat until fully combined and smooth, about 3 minutes. The batter should be thick but pourable - don't worry, it will turn into cookie dough. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight. Note: I left mine in the fridge longer, with no ill effect. You just don't want to forget it in there for too long.

Scoop out a scant 2 tablespoons of dough and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Flatten the dough into small disks, about 2 inches in diameter - you can grease your hands with a little oil if this gets messy.

Place a caramel in the center. Scoop out a rounded teaspoon of dough and flatten it into a disk. Place this disk on top of the caramel, pinching the layers of dough together.

Note: I followed the instructions for forming the cookies for the first batch I made, then changed gears and did it in a way that made more sense to me. So feel free to improvise. You want the caramel neatly enclosed by the dough, with the top a little thinner, and you want the cookie somewhat flat. It will spread a little during cooking, but its nice to give it a little help.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, just until set on the edges. Remove from the oven and sprinkle each cookie with a little flaky salt. Note: in the second batch, I added salt before baking - it seemed easier, and the salt stuck a little better.

Let cool at least 5 minutes on the baking sheet before serving, or place them on a rack to cool completely and rewarm later.

And ... here's a little tease ...

This cake is also from Half Baked Harvest. It's a three-layer chocolate cake filled with chocolate fudge that is drizzled with caramel sauce. It's frosted with caramel frosting, and then drizzled with more caramel. This is NOT an everyday cake that you'd make for a family dinner, but if you want a showstopper for a party or event, this is it.

Super-Fudgy Walnut, Caramel, and Marshmallow Brownies #SweetenTheSeason

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SweetenTheSeason #CollectiveBias

When I got an opportunity to do a post that involved baking with chocolate and other goodies ... well, how could I say no? I love baking, and chocolate is so ... chocolate. I mean, what more can I say? I decided to make brownies. But not any brownies. These have caramel bits and walnuts inside, and a puffy-gooey colorful splash of marshmallow on top.

At first, I wanted to use the marshmallows inside the brownies, to get the colors to show inside, but that didn't work as expected. The brownies were delicious, but the marshmallows melted and the colors mostly disappeared. So then I decided to top the brownies with the marshmallows, so you could see them.

See what torture I go through for you? Brownies had to be consumed. Okay, and I gave some away, too. But still.

I picked up my goodies at the local Walmart where a "Bake Center" display was conveniently positioned in the middle of the big aisle in the grocery area. Like a beacon of ... baking to come. I swear, I always gawk at the stuff in the baking displays, even if I'm not shopping for baking stuff. Do you do that too? I just have to stop and browse. Have to.

I had a whole list of products I could choose to use, and I was supposed to pick at least three for my actual recipe. I narrowed it down to some Baker's chocolate bars (I stocked up on white, semi-sweet, and unsweetened chocolate bars, because I use them all the time) and then I added Kraft caramel bits, because I thought they would be fun, and then I hunted down the Jet-Puffed Candy Corn marshmallows because I thought they'd be pretty.

While candy corn is probably most associated with Halloween, the colors of the marshmallows were very fall-like and just as appropriate for all the days leading up to Thanksgiving. And, hey, why not have some brownies for Thanksgiving dessert, too?

I kind of love this recipe. It's simple to put together and it freezes well, so you can make extra and have them on hand if someone drops by for coffee or if you need an emergency dessert. And while these look like something that came from a fancy bakery, they're budget friendly, so you can make them often!

Did I mention they're very dense and very fudge-like? I prefer to eat them just a little bit chilled. But that's just me. They'd probably be amazing if they were just a little warm, and then topped with ice cream. Or at room temperature. Yeah, they're that good.

Since they're so rich and luxurious, a little goes a long way. I suggest cutting them in smaller pieces rather than ginormous ones, like you'd do for a cake - at least 16 pieces - or even more. I cut my second batch into 36 pieces, each about 1 3/4-inch square. Possibly too small for dessert, but perfect for a little snack.

To make removing the brownies from the pan a little easier, I suggest lining your baking pan with parchment.

Super-Fudgy Walnut, Caramel, and Marshmallow Brownies
Makes 1 9-inch square pan, 16 or more pieces

1 4-ounce bar Baker's semi-sweet chocolate
1 4-ounce bar Baker's unsweetened chocolate
2 sticks butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup Kraft caramel bits (or more, to taste)
1 cup Jet-Puffed Candy Corn marshmallows (or more, to taste)
1/2 bar (2 ounces) Baker's white chocolate, chopped (optional)

Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler on the stove, or in the microwave in a microwave-safe container (I used a measuring cup) in 30-second increments, stirring in between heating, until the chocolate and butter are fully melted. Stir until they're combined.

Meanwhile, put the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.

Add the melted chocolate to the dry mixture and beat well.

Add the eggs and beat until combined. Add the walnuts and stir until the walnuts are evenly distributed throughout the chocolate mixture. Note: you could add the caramel bits along with the walnuts, but I found that it was easier to make sure they were evenly distributed when I layered them in the center. But it works either way.

Put about half of the mixture in the pan and press it evenly into the pan. It is very thick. Don't worry about that.

Sprinkle the caramel bits evenly on top of the chocolate. You can add more, if you like.

Add the rest of the chocolate mixture to the pan and press it evenly on top of the caramel bits.

Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until the edges of the brownies are fully set and the center has just a tiny bit of jiggle to it. It shouldn't be sloppy, but it's fine if it moves a bit.

Take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle the top with the marshmallows. You don't need to measure exactly - just scatter on as many as you like. Keep in mind that they'll flatten and spread out as they melt.

Scatter the chopped white chocolate on top, if you're using it.

Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes until the marshmallows have softened and melted. Mmmm.

Because of the fudgy nature of these brownies, you won't be able to test them with a toothpick, as you would for a cake, but they should be set in the center (no more jiggle) when they're done and the edges will be slightly crisp.

Let the pan cool completely on a rack before removing the brownies. I suggest refrigerating them before slicing, for neater looking cuts.

You can make these brownies well in advance and freeze them. Remove them from the freezer and let them rest a for a while at room temperature, so they can soften enough for slicing.

The marshmallows and caramel bits also make nice snacks all on their own, so it would be perfectly fine to scatter some on the plate with the brownies or have them sitting in bowls on your dessert bar.

Note: If you can't find the candy corn marshmallows, you can use regular mini marshmallows or any seasonal or colored mini marshmallows that you like.

For more info on the products I used (YUM!), more recipes, and a COUPON for Kraft products at Walmart, check it out!

Baileys Caramel Swirl and Poke Cake with Baileys Whipped Cream

I'm a huge fan of Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur. Not just for sipping, although that's a very nice use of it. But I've also used it for recipes. So when the folks at Baileys asked me if I wanted to use some of their salted caramel flavored Baileys in a baking recipe, I knew I had to do it.

I had a couple different ideas, but I kept thinking about a caramel I made for ice cream that I used for a guest post on Cravings of a Lunatic. I decided to make a similar caramel, but make it more sauce, and then incorporate it into a cake.

Or course, caramel sauce wasn't enough Baileys for me. There's also Baileys in the cake batter, and in the whipped cream topping.

The caramel that's "poked" into the cake stays soft and squishy, while any excess caramel on top of the cake turns into a thin, crisp, flaky layer. As for that whipped cream, it's an amazing topping for the cake ... but if you happen to have extra, it adds a lovely note on top of hot chocolate. Particularly if you spike that hot chocolate for a little bit of Baileys.

Baileys Caramel Swirl and Poke Cake
with Baileys Whipped Cream

For the caramel sauce:
1/2 cup Baileys Salted Caramel Irish Cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
Pinch of salt

For the cake:
1 3/4 cups (7 7/8 ounces) all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Baileys Salted Caramel Irish Cream
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 to 2/3 cups caramel sauce

For the whipped cream:
2 tablespoons Baileys Salted Caramel Irish Cream
7/8 cup heavy whipping cream

To get started:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray.

To make the caramel sauce:

Combine the 1/2 cup Baileys, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon butter, and pinch salt in a saucepan. Heat to a boil, then lower to a simmer.

Cook until the mixture thickens. It should be thick enough so that when it's at room temperature it will be thick and, but not chewy. It also shouldn't be super-runny. You can test it by putting a small amount on a spoon and putting it in the refrigerator to chill.

You should end up with somewhere between 1/2 cup and 2/3 cup of syrup. Pour 1/4 cup of syrup into a glass measuring cup and refrigerate while you work on the cake. Leave the remainder of the syrup in the pot; you'll be reheating it later.

To make the cake:

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Combine the Bailey's and the yogurt in small bowl or measuring cup. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating until they are thoroughly incorporated.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of the yogurt mixture, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl when needed. This is a fairly thick batter, so don't be concerned that it's not as loose as many cakes you've probably made.

Take 1/2 cup of the batter out of the bowl and add it to the chilled caramel sauce you set aside in the refrigerator. Stir to combine.

Transfer the rest of the batter to your prepared pan. Dollop the batter mixed with caramel on top of the plain cake batter, and swirl with a knife.

You could also add half of the plain batter to the pan, top with the caramel, then add the rest of the plain batter. Swirl or not, as desired.

Level the top of the batter and bake at 350 degrees until the cake springs back when touched, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Heat the remaining caramel sauce until it's a pouring consistency.

Holey Baileys Cake!

Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes into the warm cake, then pour the warmed syrup into the holes. You don't need to be neat about it - it's fine to spill over the top of the cake.

When you've used all the syrup, use a spoon or soft spatula to spread the syrup remaining on top of the cake into a thin layer and encourage it to fill any holes that might not be completely full.

Let the cake cool completely, then turn out onto the rack then immediately flip over onto a plate or cake stand, so the side with the holes is on top - the caramel is soft, so if you leave the cake upside-down too long, the caramel will start oozing out.

To finish the cake, you have several options. Because of the holes from poking, you probably want to do more than just sprinkle it with powdered sugar. You could, of course, frost it. You could also cover it with a poured or whipped ganache.

But I thought the perfect partner for this slightly dense cake was a fluffy Baileys-flavored whipped cream. If you know you're going to serve the whole cake for dessert, you can top the entire cake with the whipped cream, but I actually like the idea of topping each individual slice with a pretty little dollop of cream. Or a big dollop.

To make the whipped cream:
The best way to measure this is to use a 1 cup measure, add the 2 tablespoons of Baileys, and then add the cream to measure 1 cup.

The easy way to make the cream is to combine the heavy cream and Baileys and place in a nitrous cream whipper. Charge and dispense according to manufacturer's instruction.

The other way is to start by whipping the cream until it begins getting thick, then add the Baileys and continue whipping until it is as thick as you like.

Because of the Baileys in the whipped cream, it doesn't hold its shape for as long as a plain whipped cream, so it's best to make it right before serving and decorate the cake or slices at the last minute. Of course, if you're using a whipper, you can just leave the cream in the whipper and dispense as you serve.

I received Baileys for my use at no cost to me.

Salted brown sugar caramel walnut ice cream

What else can be said? It's ice cream. It's salted caramel. It's got brown sugar. It's got walnuts.

It's really, really, really, really good. I mean ... really.

Sure, you sort of have to make caramel first, but that's not really a big deal. I mean, that's just melted sugar and stuff.

And it doesn't have to be a perfect caramel. You're not serving it as a caramel, so the thickness isn't an issue.

As long as it melts and you don't burn it, you're good to go.

Well, except that the title is a little long. Let's just call it Caramel Walnut Ice Cream and let everyone oooh and aaaaah when they try it. We'll keep that brown sugar and salt to ourselves, shall we?

Caramel Walnut Ice Cream

1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Combine the sugar and butter in  a heavy-bottomed pot. I like to use a saucier, but a saucepan is fine. Heat on medium until the sugar melts. It's better to heat this slowly rather than heat it quickly and have the butter scorch or the sugar burn.

Add the heavy cream. It will bubble and perhaps spatter. The sugar mixture might harden. No worries. Just keep cooking and stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Turn the heat off and add the milk and then stir in the vanilla.

Transfer the mixture to a storage container and refrigerate until completely chilled. I usually make this the day before I want to churn it.

When the mixture has chilled, churn it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the salt and walnuts at the very end of cooking, or add them as you're transferring the ice cream to a storage container. The point is to not let the salt melt and distribute through the mixture - you want it to encounter your taste buds in little "pops" of salt.

Freeze until firm.

Sweet and Salty Popcorn Balls (and why I'm not crafty)

A ridiculous amount of this disappeared. Magically.

So, when my friend Carla from Good Cook said she wanted some posts about popcorn balls, I said, sure, I can do that.

I even had a recipe for caramel-like toffee thing that I knew I could use for the "glue." I'd made the caramel before but never wrote about it. I was waiting for something to use it with/for/in.

So, popcorn balls. Sure. Easy.

Ha.

Right.

I received two popcorn ballers (plastic molds for making the popcorn balls), one round and one oval/football shaped. The molds are a pretty good idea because your other option, I guess, is to form the balls with your hands. Sounds mildly painful considering you're dealing with melted sugar.

My first idea was to make a cheese-and-caramel sort of popcorn ball. There's a booth at the local farmers market that sells a mix of cheese popcorn and caramel popcorn and it's ridiculously good. I wanted to recreate that in a popcorn ball.

So far, so good.

I popped two batches of popcorn (about 5 quarts of popped  popcorn) and set out on my journey towards humiliation. You see, the bloggers in the Facebook group that Carla runs had starting making and posting their popcorn ball masterpieces. Some of them posted disclaimers that said, "hey, don't judge me ... my five-year-old made this."

And then they posted photos of Frankenstein-like monsters, and trains, and adorable gingerbread houses, and even turkeys and owls.

I considered renting some children, because my first attempt at making a "cute" popcorn ball was not quite a success. I used the oval/football shaped mold and decided to make it look like a fish. When I looked at the photos I realized it looked more like a dog with mutantly misplaced ears and a mohawk.

Mutant popcorn poodle

So I tried again, this time making it look more like a dog. A mutant popcorn poodle.

To glue the parts on, I used peanut butter. It made sense, since there was peanut butter in the caramel, but these weren't popcorn balls you could walk around with - the attached parts came of easily. Which was good for easy munching.

For something more secure, I'd suggest royal icing as a glue, or even melted chocolate. You could also use melted caramel, but I used all mine on the popcorn.

I used dried apricots for the ears and a dried cherry for the nose. The eyes were store-bought sugar decorations.

Better. Maybe. Sort of. But not great.

So, I decided to dispense with the cute popcorn ball and go back to my original plan - to make tasty cheese and caramel popcorn balls. Just balls. Round planetary objects. Yeah, that's what they were. Planets.

So much better.

Sweet-and-Salty Popcorn Balls
with peanut-butter caramel and cheese

It's round. Stare at it. It's like a planet, right? Right???

5-6 quarts popped popcorn
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons, 1/4 pound) butter
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
Cheese, as needed (something that melts well - colby is a good choice)

Have the popcorn popped and standing by in a bowl large enough to allow you to mix the popcorn without it spilling over the sides and onto the floor. Alternatively, have a dog standing nearby to catch fallen popcorn.

Just kidding. Maybe.

Put the sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan and heat on medium until the sugar melts and turns brown. Not black-brown-burned. You want a dark golden or rich brown. Add the butter. Gently. Things will bubble. Stir. The sugar will likely clump up and/or harden, but it will melt again. When the butter has melted and the mixture stirs easily, add the peanut butter and stir it in.

This is a thick caramel/toffee/candy, not a thin drizzly coating.

Add spoon fulls of the caramel to the popcorn and stir it around so that it coat the popcorn rather than the popcorn adhering to balls of the caramel. You'll see what I mean.

You can keep the caramel over LOW heat while you stir in spoon fulls, but watch it so it doesn't burn. Add as much of the caramel as you like. If you have some left over, pour it onto a silpat and let it cool there.

This stuff is really good ... the peanut butter makes it taste like peanut brittle. Even though it's only 1/2 cup, you can taste it.

For cheeseless caramel popcorn balls:

While the caramel is still warm and sticky on the popcorn, shovel the popcorn mixture into the popcorn ball mold, overfilling it, and mash the top on, compressing the popcorn a bit so it takes on the shape of the mold. Check it and shove extra popcorn in if you have gaps and holes in the ball. Mash the top on again.

Remove the popcorn ball from the mold and continue making more. Work quickly, before the caramel cools.

Left over caramel-coated popcorn is great for snacking. Quite a bit of it disappeared before I even started on the cheesy version.

For cheese caramel popcorn balls:

As some point, that caramel is going to harden to the point where it will no longer be sticky, but we can still make CHEESY caramel popcorn balls. Gather up what looks like about twice as much of the prepared caramel popcorn that would fit into the mold and put it onto a microwaveable plate or bowl. Grate a generous amount of cheese on top and mix it in. Grate a little more. This is our new "glue" so you need enough to keep the popcorn sticking together.

Use a cheese that melts easily like colby or a mild cheddar or gruyere. You can add something like parmesan for extra flavor, but don't count on that for the stickiness.

Microwave the cheese-covered popcorn until the cheese melts. The caramel will also soften a bit.

Shovel the popcorn into the mold as before and mash the top on. Add more popcorn, if needed to fill holes and gaps in the ball. Remove from the mold.

It's best to melt the cheese onto the popcorn one batch at a time, since the cheese cools pretty quickly.

Continue making as many popcorn balls as you like.

Just the cheese:

If you don't like sweets, the caramel isn't necessary. You could make popcorn balls with just the cheese. Just melt the cheese on the popped corn, and shove them in the molds.

For an added punch of savory flavor, you could add herbs and spices to the popcorn, or add more cheese flavor with powdered cheddar cheese.

As part of the Good Cook Kitchen Experts program, Good Cook sends me cooking gadgets for my use.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Salt is interesting. You need salt to live, but too much can be bad for you. Salt makes food taste good, but on the other hand, you don't want food to taste like salt.

And ... you have the choice of adding salt so it blends into whatever you're making, or you can add the salt so it's an accent. Like on pretzels. Or when you use a finishing salt, like on fresh tomatoes or a salad.

Or when you salt meat so the outside of the meat has a saltier flavor. Or when you sprinkle a bit of salt on top of something sweet, like chocolate truffles.

For this salted caramel ice cream, I added some salt to the ice cream mixture, and then I added some swirled into the ice cream at the very end. The salt still melted into the ice cream - it's not like you would find little salty crunchy bits in the ice cream. But there were little teeny pockets of saltiness that hit your tongue and wake it up.

I don't know if anyone would realize that it was salt, but they'd notice sudden bursts of more intense flavor. Just like magic.

Mmmmm. Salt.

I didn't add a lot more salt to this ice cream than I've used in other ice creams - it's the way it's used that's different. I suggest that you use a slightly larger crystal salt than table salt. Not those big rocks that you grind in a salt grinder, but a more substantial kosher salt is lovely.

Now that we're past the salt, let's talk about that caramel. Because this recipe starts with sugar, not with a caramel that you buy. Yup, you're cooking your own caramel before you make the ice cream.

But don't be frightened. I'll be right here with you.

Heh. I'll probably be eating ice cream. But I'll be here ... somewhere.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons rum
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

In a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat, heat the sugar, butter, and salt. Heat it slowly, stirring often, until the sugar melts.

This is a teeny bit tricky, since you've got butter that burns at a lower temperature, and sugar that you want to get melted and then brown. But you can do it. Just keep watching it, and don't let parts of it get too brown.

Continue cooking until you have a medium-ish brown product. You don't want it to get too brown, or it will go bitter on you. And you don't want it to burn, because that's just bad. Better to stop a little short, if you're worried.

Add about half of the cream - it will bubble up like crazy, but just keep on stirring. The caramel will want to solidify and might simply ball up around your spoon or whisk. Just keep cooking and stirring until the caramel melts again and you've got a smooth sauce.

Hey! Look! Caramel sauce!

Turn off the heat and add the rest of the cream, along with the milk, vanilla extract, and rum. Stir until well combined, the transfer to a storage container and refrigerate until fully chilled. The next day is fine. You've got a fairly warm mixture, so it's going to take some time to chill well.

When the mixture is well-chilled, churn it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. When it's done, transfer to a storage container, sprinkling on tiny amounts of salt as you add layers of ice cream to the container.

If you like, give the ice cream a quick swirl or stir when all the ice cream is in the container and all the salt is added - but don't stir to much or the salt will get too well distributed in the ice cream and you won't get those pops of flavor.

Freeze the ice cream until firm.

This post was part of #IceCreamWeek organized by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Jen of Juanita’s Cocina, along with more than 20 of their bloggers. If you’d like to check out today’s #IceCreamWeek recipes, drool over the blogs below:

Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Ice Cream Cake by Cravings of a Lunatic
Ice Cream Crunch Cake by Juanita's Cocina
Birthday Ice Cream Bombe by girlichef
Japanese Yuzu Citrus Ice Cream by Ninja Baker
Coconut-Key Lime Pie Ice Cream Cups by The Kitchen is My Playground
Salted Caramel Ice Cream by Cookistry
Chocolate Malt Ice Cream Cake by Food Babbles
Funfetti Ice Cream Krispie Cupcakes by The Spiffy Cookie
Brownie Fudge Ripple Ice Cream by Poet in the Pantry
Wild Blueberry Ice Cream Smoothie by Foodness Gracious

Milk Salted-Caramel Sauce

Caramel is pretty simple to make, and the benefit to making your own is that you can customize it to your taste. Most caramel sauces include heavy cream, but how many people keep heavy cream sitting around all the time? Milk, on the other hand, is a little more common.

For the sugar, I used cane sugar from Florida Crystals. who is sponsoring this post.

Cane sugar is sort of an odd name, because pretty much all the commercial sugar you buy is made from sugar cane. But sugar that's labeled  "Cane Sugar" is usually a different sort of product. It's usually less refined and it retains some of the molasses rather than being pure white.

The cane sugar made by Florida Crystals is a very pale cream color and has a subtle molasses flavor rather than just being just plain sweet like white sugar. It pours and measures just like white sugar and can be used in any recipe that uses white sugar.

I've been using a lot of cane sugar when I make bread, so when the folks at Florida Crystals contacted me, I knew it was a product I could work with.

But this time around I decided to make something that really showcased the sugar.

This sauce doesn't include any corn syrup, so it's more likely to start getting grainy as the sugar re-crystalizes as you store it. You can re-melt it to smooth it out if that happens, but your best bet is to just use it up quickly. It's great on ice cream or drizzled over cake or pie or fruit.

I was particularly fond of this sauce drizzled over some fresh strawberries and topped with some whipped cream.

This recipe makes a pretty small batch - about a half-cup, but since it's so simple to make, you don't need to cook up large vats of it. It's nice hot, warm, room temperature, or cold.

Milk Salted-Caramel Sauce

That's Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream, if you're wondering.

1/2 cup Florida Crystals Cane Sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Combine the cane sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed pan (use a larger pot than you think you'll need - this will bubble up a lot, and you won't be happy if you have to clean melted sugar off your stove) and cook until the sugar melts and the mixture becomes clear. Continue cooking until it comes to a full boil.

Add the butter and salt (how big of a pinch depends on how "salty" you want your salted caramel. A small pinch will enhance the flavor without it being salty at all. use your own discretion) and stir until the butter melts.

Add the milk and stir until it'x combined. Let it come back to a boil and let it cook for a minute or two. Turn the heat off and add the vanilla extract and stir. If the mixture seems curdled, crank up the heat and let it cook a little longer, stirring as you cook.

The sauce will seem thin when it's hot, but it will thicken considerable as it cools and it will thicken even more if you refrigerate it. If it's not as thick as you like, you can cook it longer to get it to the consistency you like.

Serve hot, warm, tepid, cool, or cold. It's good any way you use it.

Refrigerate any leftovers.

If it's important to you, Florida Crystals are made from US-grown sugar cane, and the cane sugar is available as organic or natural. I used the organic version for this recipe. Check the website for all the varieties.

This post is sponsored by ASR Group/Florida Crystals. All opinions are mine.