Homemade Dulce De Leche.

If you haven’t done this, it is an absolute MUST.

You know what it is, right?

It is ooey gooey caramel sauce that has the ability to change your life.

Haagen-Dazs has a Dulce De Leche flavor ice cream that is perfect for a lonely night alone on the couch.

(The reason it’s good for a lonely night is because then you don’t have to share, and no one will know you ate the whole thing by yourself.)

The first time I had dulce de leche was with Mikey in Spain.

I went to visit him while we were studying abroad (I was in London. Long distance is the worst, we were pros for 3ish years) and he took me to get ice cream, which there is called helado.

There were some weird flavors, and Mikey told me to try the dulce de leche, which is translated “sweet from milk”. Which now that I have made it, makes sense.

I fell in love with it and had to get it every day that I was there.

I then came back home to the U.S of A, and got super depressed about not being in London and having to actually study hard again and get a job…

My wonderful Mom came to the rescue as always and helped me realize life wasn’t as bad as I thought and that I would make it through the semester.

*side note: there really is no worse time to live in Wisconsin than the months of mid-January to March. It is cold, cold, cold and horrible. Therefore, study abroad second semester if you can, so you come home to summer and not garbage.

All that being said, I found solace in Haagen-Dazs and always think of my memories with Mikey in Spain…

And the LAST thing I am going to leave you with is this: I made this dulce de leche for a salted caramel pie I will be posting within the next couple days. I can OFFICIALLY say that it is Mikeys FAVORITE dessert to date!!!!!

Success.

It starts out with a can (or 2) of sweet and condensed milk and some sea salt.

Pour it into a glass baking dish (my 9×13 didn’t fit in my roasting pan so I did 2 smaller dishes).

Add water to the roasting pan so it reaches 1/3 of the way up the glass dishes side.

Sprinkle some sea salt on top…

Cover tightly with foil…

Place in the oven, stirring 2-3 times throughout the next 1 1/2-2 hours and adding more water as needed…

And then….IT’S FINISHED!

So easy, so so sticky and delicious!

Stir it up as best you can and then pour on top of your favorite ice cream, dessert or breakfast food!

Add a little sea salt to the top of whatever you serve this on and enjoy!

Recipe: Dulce De Leche

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

I made a salted caramel pie, featuring this dulce de leche that I will be sharing with you this week (which is why I used 2 cans of sweet and condensed milk. You can use just one to make the sauce).

Empty the contents of a can into an oven-proof dish; sprinkle with some sea salt (a scant 1/2 tsp) and cover tightly with foil.

Place the covered dish in a larger roasting pan/baking pan and fill the roasting pan with water until it reaches about three quarters of the way up the covered dish. Place into preheated oven and let cook for about 2 hours, stirring 2-3 times throughout the cooking process. Add more water to the pan as needed so as not to scorch your sauce.

The Dulce de leche will be done when it resembles a light caramel sauce. It may appear to be chunky at times throughout the stirring and cooking, but after you take it out, stir it and it begins to cool, the chunks will go away.

Let cool and serve over ice cream, a favorite cake or pie, french toast, make a milkshake that will bring all the boys to the yard, or just eat it with a spoon on the couch.

Whatever you decide to do with this wonderful sauce is up to you. I recommend sprinkling a little sea salt on top of whatever your finished product is for that salted-caramel taste.

*final note: You can make this sauce a few different ways. You can boil cans on the stovetop (dangerous if you ask me. I don’t want them blowing up in my face). And I also read that you can do it in the microwave. That seems a bit lazy to me…but if you are short on time, this is a great option!

*final final note: This dulce de leche sauce was made to be used in a salted caramel pie, to be featured later in the week, and I found it in food and wine magazine.