See how I turned a can of sweetened condensed milk into an Argentinian treat!
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Hey, y'all! I am so unbelievably excited that fall is officially here. This is hands down my favorite season. The leaves don't change here in Florida, and the weather doesn't really cool down but we're able to enjoy all of the tastes and smells of the season just the same. One of my favorite flavors of the season, besides pumpkin, is caramel or dulce de leche.
For those of you who haven't tried dulce de leche, you are truly missing out. It has a similar taste to caramel, however, it is much more smooth and creamy. Caramel hardens at room temperature whereas dulce de leche maintains a creamy texture. Caramel is made by heating sugar until it browns whereas dulce de leche is made by boiling sugared milk until almost all of the water has evaporated. This leaves you with a sweet, creamy substance that is simply heaven.
Dulce de leche translates out to be "sweet of milk" which is the perfect description of this Argentinian treat. You are literally carmelizing sugar in milk when you make this sweet treat.
This weekend I ran to Aldi to grab the ingredients to make this week's featured Saturday's Snacks recipe- Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Dip. I couldn't find caramel or dulce de leche anywhere so I decided to make my own.
I promise you this couldn't be any easier and being able to say you made homemade dulce de leche totally adds to your street cred.
When I got home, I filled my crockpot full of water and pulled a can of sweetened condensed milk out of the pantry. I simply removed the label from the can, fully submerged it in my crockpot and set it to cook for 8 hours on low. I went about my day as usual and by bedtime, I had a delicious batch of dulce de leche. That is seriously all it takes!
Ingredients:
Sweetened Condensed Milk
Instructions:
1. Peel the label off of the can of sweetened condensed milk.
2. Place the can into an empty crockpot. Fill the crockpot with water ensuring the the can is completely covered. Put the lid on the crockpot.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours.
4. Carefully remove the can. Allow to cool on the counter. Do not open it until it reaches room temperature. Store in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
Tips:
1. If you would like to monitor the caramelization process a little more closely, you can place the sweetened condensed milk into a canning jar before putting it in the crockpot.
2. Make sure the can or jar stays fully submerged at all times. The can could potentially explode if it is not fully covered.
I can't wait to play around with different dessert recipes using this delicious treat! I'm thinking caramel apple nachos, and caramel cream cheese dip are in my future! Don't forget to pin this recipe for later, you're going to want it!
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