Have you ever had Dulce de Leche? It is a heavenly sauce that is very similar to caramel except Dulce de Leche is made from milk and not sugar.
It is amazing on ice cream, with slices apples, graham crackers or cookies, drizzle it on warm apple pie…. really anything you put caramel on.
And you can make Dulce de Leche so easily and have a wonderful treat to eat with all those apples in season right now. I’ll tell you, I eat this straight from the jar because it really is a creamy wonderful bite of heaven.
This makes the easiest little fall gift ever as you will see below, but here is the scoop. All you need to do is either boil sweetened condensed milk over the stove for a few hours or just put it in the crock pot. I prefer the crock pot so I don’t have to keep an eye on it. You will get the same results either way.
So start out by buying Sweetened Condensed Milk in the baking aisle of your store. It should be about $2.00. Try to avoid the pop top can if you possibly can. My favorite brand is Eagle though and I only find it in pop top. Don’t get evaporated milk- make sure it is condensed milk.
This is what it looks like- I did nothing at all except open the can and pour it in the jar. Screw the lid on tightly. That is it.
I have been making this for a few years and it really can’t be any easier.
These are the steps that I take and in the end you will have a rich, creamy and wonderful sauce.
1. I prefer to open the condensed milk and empty the can into a mason jar. You can leave it in the can to cook but I find it easier this way. The beauty of the mason jar is that it is ready for gift giving literally straight from the crock pot. You could make several of these at once and knock out several gifts in one shot.
2. If it is in a mason jar, seal the jar tightly and place in a crock pot upright.
3. If you leave it in the can, you want to line your crock pot with either foil or a crock pot cover or place a bowl or plate at the bottom. This is just in case you have any rust issues with the can.
4. Next fill the crock completely with water until it is covering the milk. If your milk is in a mason jar you don’t need to cover the jar, just where the milk line is.
5. Set the timer for low heat for 8 hours. It is perfectly fine if you leave it in the crock for longer if your Crock Pot has a timer on it to shut off. Sometimes mine goes off in the middle of the night and the crock pot shuts itself off and the caramel sauce is fine to sit in the warm bath for a few more hours.
After 8 hours go ahead and remove.
If your caramel is in a mason jar you can carefully remove the lid right away if you like (it will be hot so be careful!). If it is in a can you want to let it cool for at least 2 hours. I stopped leaving mine in the can when I opened the pop up can before it was cool enough and hot caramel sauce splashed everywhere (ouch!!). If you do use a pop top can be really careful because there is a very small chance it could explode in the crock. (I doubt it but you never know).
If you prefer to use the stove top just put your can in a large pot and boil for 3 hours. Be very careful that you check all the time to make sure the water level stays completely covering the can. I would avoid pop top cans on the stove top. I think a mason jar would work but I have not personally tried it.
And now sit down and enjoy the wonderful fruits of your hard work!! It is all ready to eat!
Oh and if you are a salted caramel sauce kind of person (and I am!!) just sprinkle a bit of sea salt on top. My favorite is Himalayan Pink Sea Salt- you can get it at Target.
And look how easy this is as a gift? Just pop in a basket with apples or with an apple pie and viola! A wonderful, cheap and easy little gift idea!
dodi says
Wow! I had no idea it was that easy to make. Thank you for sharing.
Raeme says
Can you do several jars at one time? I was thinking of doing as many jars as I can in a crock pot.
Thank you and I know what I am doing for teacher gifts 🙂
Trista says
Hi Charlene,
This looks like a good one! Does it need to be refrigerated? Does it stay edible indefinitely like sugar based caramel or does it expire?
Thanks,
Trista
Katie @ Life Lived Intentionally says
Looks delicious! I totally have a can of evaporated milk right now, too.
How long will it keep? Does it need to be refrigerated? Thanks so much for the recipe.
Charlene says
Katie,
I keep it in the fridge and it lasts awhile. But don’t use evaporated 🙂 You must use condensed milk or it won’t be sweet. If it is in a mason jar it is handy because you can just pop in the micro. The dulce de leche gets thick and rich after it sits for awhile.
Charlene says
Trista,
I have keep it several weeks but I don’t know officially how long. It is like caramel sauce IMO ;). The jar pictured is 1 1/2 cans of condensed milk.
Charlene says
Raeme, I think so. I would suggest doing one just so you see the color- it should be brownish caramel color and then try it with several. I can’t see why not if your Crock Pot is big enough. In the mason jar you can see the color change so you’ll know it is done.
Sylvia says
Yum. My mom used to make this when we were kids. She’d cook like 3 or 4 cans at a time over the stove. I don’t remember how long she’d cook it for but it must be longer than you do because she’d cook it till was really thick such that we could spoon it out like a flan.
Maryanne says
Does it need to be refrigerated after cooking and opening the jar?
Charlene says
Maryanne,
I do keep it in the fridge but it is just like caramel sauce so you don’t need to worry if it is left out for a bit. It won’t go bad.
Mari says
Neat idea! I like the salted caramel idea too… Do you out the salt in the mason jar before or after cooking?
Lori says
Oh yum! Must try! Thanks for the idea!
Katie @ Life Lived Intentionally says
Woops!! Came down with a nasty cold yesterday and my head is all fuzzy. I MEANT sweetened condensed milk 🙂 thanks for the clarification! I needed it, especially yesterday. Excited to make it!
Jessica says
I did this overnight last night. My 10 year old was so excited for apples after school. He’s been asking me for weeks to buy caramel dip at the store. This was so much better!
Charlene says
Jessica- thanks for the feedback! It is a little different then caramel but so delicious right? A little thinner I think and not quite as sweet.
Kendra says
Well mine didn’t turn out exactly the same, but my crock pot is to blame. I’ve been thinking for awhile now that it cooks too hot even on low, and this proves it. After just 5 hours, I had caramel custard, not sauce. Still delicious, though!
Charlene says
Kendra, I was just saying to myself that I needed to start looking for deals on Crock Pots for people :). The good news is that you only lost about $2. So you can always try again and I would for sure do a mason jar because you will see when it turns the golden caramel color. Someone else was saying they liked it cooked longer so it is like flan- sounds like that is what you got :).
Kendra says
I still ate it! 😉 I did use a mason jar, but I didn’t know what I was looking for… I’ll know to check it more often. And yes, I need a crock pot deal — I’ve been reading reviews all evening!
Lori says
HELP!!! I followed the directions exactly and used three cans of sweet condensed milk in three mason jars. After 8 hours on low in my large crock pot, I removed them from their simmering bath, took off the lids and allowed the jars to cool. I then tasted my creations. My expectation was that the consistency would be like a sauce, but it wasn’t! It was sort of gloppy when I mixed it up. The color was right, and it tasted great. But the texture is definitely way off. Do you think that my crock pot’s low setting may run a bit hotter? (I believe someone else commented that this is what they think happened to their creation.) Should I try it again but cook it for a shorter period of time?
I wondered, also, if the dulce de leche would be a nice addition to my morning coffee, so I tried it. I took a spoonful and started to stir it in my hot coffee. It barely melted!!! Uh oh. How do I get this gloppy – but great tasting – mixture to have more of a syrupy consistency. Any ideas???
Also, I was wondering if anybody’s tried the recipe with fat-free sweetened condensed milk. Anybody?
Charlene says
Lori,
I usually get the fat free kind. Gloppy is not what I got :(. You can see from that spoon it was like a thick maple syrup. I do wonder if your crock runs hot. You know you can taste it next time. I would set it for 5 hours and then remove and use a towel to open the jar and dip a spoon in and wait one sec for it to cool and then taste. You can always put it back in and cook longer if needed.
You can use it in coffee. I have a reader that sent in a great recipe with this condensed milk. I will post it very soon 🙂
Molly says
Heads up- 3 hours in a mason jar on the stove = soft flan for me :/
Charlene says
Molly did you watch the jars? Once they turn a caramel color it is time to take them off.
Kelly says
I was just wondering, would this work for caramel apples? I need to make a large batch to wrap, and just thought this may save me some time.
Charlene says
Kelly, we dip apples in this but I don’t think it would be quite right for caramel apples only because this is milkier and caramel apples need that super sticky caramel to get it to stick properly. Does that make sense? I have seen people do an apple in a bag with a cute jar of a caramel sauce attached instead of a caramel apple. I am doing a caramel apple bar this weekend for the girl scouts and I am just putting 8 zillion caramels into the crock pot and dipping the apples.
Rebekah Kirk says
Ok help! I did exactly as you said using the mason jar in the crock pot and my caramel came out lumpy. What did I do wrong?
Charlene says
Rebekah- did you use sweetened condensed milk and you covered it completely with water? What color is the final product and what does it taste like? If it tastes like a custard then you cooked it too long or your Crock Pot has very high heat resulting in the product cooking much faster. I have never had a lumpy caramel so I am not sure what happened.
Lorena says
My family has been using this recipe (stovetop/can) method forever! We use the caramel after it has set in cookies (alfajores from Peru) and in between layers of cake. I never thought to do this with apples, brilliant. Thanks Charlene! I absolutely think I will be adding a caramel apple dessert bar to to our Thanksgiving celebration this year!
Alisa says
I was wondering the same as a previous commenter. If you want it salted, do you put the salt on top before or after cooking? Going to try this either way! Have a pumpkin cheesecake in the oven I think this would taste great with!
Charlene says
Alisa, I would sprinkle it on top of the sauce.
Katie Barnes says
Hi there! SUPER excited to try this! I just wanted to make sure that the only ingredient is sweet n condense milk?
Charlene says
Katie, yes there is only one ingredient. 🙂
Connie says
You can also use a pressure cooker. I takes only about 20 minutes.
Charlene says
Connie great tip! Pressure cookers scare me so I’ll stick with the Crock but maybe others will want to give it a shot 😉
Karen says
Thank you SO MUCH for using a canning jar! And yes, the can WILL explode. Happened to my niece and she was severely burned with permanent scarring on her chest wall and face.
Charlene says
Oh goodness I am so sorry for her 🙁
Elena says
So I tried it on the stove in the canning jars. I used the lowfat sweetened condensed milk split in two 8oz. jars. I just boiled them covered and made sure I added water as needed. I set my timer for 1 hour increments and after the second hour I checked them and they were done. I needed to stir them a little because it was a little lumpy so I think I pulled them out in time. So for me two hours was long enough maybe check at the 1-45 next time. But it still tasted great =)
Charlene says
So glad Elena 🙂
Nicky says
Can this be done on high in the slow cooker? I’m on a time crunch. If so, how long?
MICHELLE says
Do you have to use a MASON jar? I keep a lot of old jelly and store bought pasta sauce jars in my cupboard. well cleaned of course! I am thinking of trying to use one of those for this. I do not have a mason jar and cannot wait to try it!
Charlene says
Michelle- you could try it with a recycled jar as long as you feel very confident about it sealing tightly. I would also watch it carefully. This could possibly explode and you’d have shattered glass and boiling hot caramel all over the place. The chances of that are obviously very very slim but just be careful 🙂
mellisa york says
I made the sauce in a pot and I used the can instead of the mason jar and I boiled it for 2 hour’s and it was lumpy then I stirred it up with a butter knife and it smoothed out and taste very good.Thank you for all the tip’s
Kristy says
I can’t wait to try this!! I’m wanting to send it in a mason jar overseas to someone in the military.. it’ll take about a week to get there.. can it be unrefrigerated for that long?
Charlene says
Kristy… hmmm… I don’t know. Once the can is opened it would need to go in the fridge but since it is cooked it might be safe…. You know I am not sure. Maybe you can email them and ask:
https://www.eaglebrand.com/contact/
If you do need to keep it in the fridge you could always stop at World Market- they have a shelf stable Dulce de Leche in a jar. I personally find it too thick so I prefer this recipe but it is still excellent.
Another option if your solider is a chocolate fan is this:
http://myfrugaladventures.com/2013/05/two-ingredient-chocolate-peanut-butter-magic-shell-for-ice-cream/
I eat this with a spoon it is so good :P. You could send it with some peanut butter cookies or something.
Kristy says
Thank you so much for your response, Charlene!! I will have to contact them and see what I can find out, and let ya know. Thank you for this other recipe.. I mean, who doesn’t like chocolate and peanut butter?! LOL!
Mary says
It’s easy to make your own sweetened condensed milk. The recipe isn’t mine — you can find it in “The More With Less Cookbook”, published in the 70’s written by Doris Janzen Longacre — the first cookbook I ever bought for myself!
It`s also available on the internet. I don`t want to intrude on someone else`s copyright.
Blanca Botello says
If I were to put pecans in the jar would I put them before or after?
Valerie Seeley says
Has anyone found a way to preserve this? I would love to make it as wedding favors, but I’ll need to can it in small jars.
Bethany Trichel says
My mom has used this in a pie for years! Really rich but yummy!
Thank you for sharing a way to make it in the crock pot! 🙂
Caramel Pie
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
In a large pot, place the can of sweetened condensed milk (with the label taken off) in the pot and cover with water. Cook on high until water comes to a boil, then turn on medium/high for 4 hours, only adding water to keep the can covered.
Carefully open can and pour into pie shell. Cool pie in refrigerator. When completely cooled, top with frozen whipped topping. Serve.
Charlene says
That sounds delicious Bethany!