Crown & Caramel Sauce (Whiskey Caramel Sauce)

Life: Do you remember the first time you had your in laws, or future in laws over for dinner? The first time I did was actually to my parents house, so the two sets of rents’ could meet each other. Charlie and I were already engaged, or talking about getting engaged, I don’t really remember anymore, but it was pretty serious. I was so nervous. Like, so, so, so nervous. Naturally, I wanted everything to be perfect.

I fussed about the house (my parents have a lovely house, which my mom has always kept near immaculate). I fussed about what I would wear. I worried about what everyone would talk about. I worried would everyone like each other? I fussed about the menu. My mother in law happens to be a really amazing cook, so actually I fussed about all the food stuff like no ones business.  My poor Mother (who also happens to be an excellent cook herself) patiently put up with me. (Oh, all the times my awesome Mom has been so patient with me!)

Everything did end up going fine, dinner tasted good, and everyone got along well. And today, I look back and laugh about it all. (Most fortunately my Mom also laughs with me!) Fast forward to the present time, and I now love having my in laws to dinner, and we always have a great time when we get together. 

In fact, they came over for dinner not that long ago. I picked up a bottle of wine and some Crown Royal (Randy’s whiskey of choice). Dinner was simple, I grilled some steaks, made some mashed potatoes, and sautéed green beans. And to keep it simple for dessert I served some Talenti Gelato and Sorebetteo (The chocolate Sorebetto is dairy free!). I love making homemade ice cream as you know from my last few posts. But when I don’t feel like it, Gelato is the way to go! (And no Talenti didn’t sponsor this post. Nor Crown Royal for that matter.)

I decided, kinda on a whim to whip up some homemade fudge sauce and caramel to go with the Gelato. (Before you have to ask, yes, I will totally share the fudge recipe soon.) And so, this magnificent caramel was born. 

Food: What can I say about this caramel sauce? It is truly amazing. And I’m not even sure I like caramel, so that’s saying something. (I way over ate caramels once as a kid. You know how that kind of thing goes..)

With less sugar, and more butter then many other recipes for caramel sauce, you’ll find it to be wonderfully buttery, and not so mouth numbingly sweet. It has a wonderful hint of whiskey that gives it a little something special that grownups will really appreciate.

Not only is it completely amazing on ice cream, it’s a pretty flippin’ awesome topping/include for cakes, cookies, pies, and more. (I actually have a few amazing dessert recipes coming up down the line using this caramel!) I should mention that if you happen to be thinking about  giving a jar of this homemade caramel as a gift I strongly suggest you make a double batch. Why you ask? To be 100% honest you may find it difficult not to eat it all straight out of the jar with a spoon. (You see how the jar is like 1/3 full in the pictures? Yeah. The spoon got it.) So clearly, it’s gotta be a double batch kind of thing! 

Crown & Caramel Sauce (Whiskey Caramel Sauce)– Yields enough to fill a 16 oz Mason jar. Adapted from Food 52.

• 1 cup dark brown sugar 
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 stick butter
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 cup Crown Royal or other whiskey 

1. Add the brown sugar, whipping cream, butter, and salt to a medium sized saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat string until all the ingredients have melted together. Turn the heat up to high and bring the mixture to boil. Once the mixture reaches a rolling boil reduce the heat to medium-high and boil for three minutes. 
2. Remove the pot from the heat and add the Crown Royal, stirring continuously. The Crown will make the pot bubble up. Once the bubbling has stopped pour the caramel into a clean Mason jar. Allow the caramel to cool slightly then seal and refrigerate until ready to use. The caramel will stay good in the fridge for two weeks. You may want to heat the caramel slightly before using as it will thicken up a lot in the fridge.