THIS MAKES A GREAT GIFT!!! (or just a yummy treat for yourself...lol!) I am making lots of caramel to give away for Christmas gifts! It's perfect for teachers, neighbors and family! Teachers and neighbors will get a can of caramel, and an apple wrapped up in a cute package. I am slowly gathering baskets so that I can make gift baskets up for family. They will get several cans of caramel with apples, popcorn and more stuff (I can't decide what else to put in the baskets. Feel free to give some advice. lol) I may make some brownies and rice crispy treats to add to the basket. Caramel will be wonderful on those!
Wanna Know how to make them? It's easy!
Get a can of sweet condensed milk. Take the label off, put into a pot and cover with water. Boil for 3 hours. Yes, 3 hours. I have done just one can as well as up to 5 cans and it works just fine. You can boil for 2 hours if you want the caramel to pour out. 3 hours will get you caramel good for dipping, and 4 hours will get you caramel that's darker and more like a spread. Make sure to keep the cans covered with water the WHOLE time. Otherwise the cans can explode. That would be messy! I set a timer for every 15 minutes..that way I don't forget to check the water level. lol.
After you've boiled the cans, you can just set them on a cooling rack and let them cool down. Careful, they are hot. DO NOT try to open them now. The caramel will run out and you will probably get burned.
If left unopened the cans can be stored in the pantry for months. Once you open the cans you must store in an airtight container in the fridge. The caramel will last up to 4 weeks in the fridge. When you open your can of caramel you can add a tsp of vanilla for taste. I like it better with vanilla.
On to the FREEBIES!!!!!!!!
Here are some labels to make those cans of caramel look pretty!
ENJOY!
What fun labels, Michelle - thanks for sharing them!!!
ReplyDeleteOhhhh - Michelle, I confess, I cheat. I pressure cooked mine for just over 2 hours :D Then let them cool in the pan, in the sink with water running over it because I am impatient (mostly to relieve the pressure) - and in that 2 hours I ended up with Caramel SPREAD (and we ate 2 cans of it at work with a 5 lb. bag of apples).
ReplyDeleteCUTE LABELS!! Thank you :D
Thanks so much for the freebies. Awesome labels!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fabulous idea! I've never heard of it before. Thank you so much for the labels.
ReplyDeleteLove the labels. Thank you--you just made my Christmas gift giving that much easier!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this Freebie. I want to let you know that I posted a link to your blog in CBH Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, under the Page 4 post on Nov. 13, 2009. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the idea and the generosity of a beautiful presentation! You have been very generous with your designs and that has been what has inspired me to keep coming back to see what you have in your store...and keep buying! I love the Vintage Memories collection for this holiday season. I have some great pages in mind. Thanks again!
ReplyDeletewow michelle... I had never heard of caramel sauce made from condensed milk. Sounds like a fun gift though.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your great work.
ReplyDeleteCindett
ReplyDeleteYou could add some of the jiffy pop popcorn, I saw on another website that they made a label to put on top of the popcorn package.
Love the labels thank you for sharing.
Oh. My. Goodness. I am doing this! I was going to make chocolate-dipped pretzels, but this will be so much easier and fun, too! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this great gift. I LOVE THE LABELS!
ReplyDeleteI remember doing this in Spanish class in high school! GREAT idea for a gift!!
ReplyDeletei have never heard of this!! Thanks for the idea!!!
ReplyDeletei linked ya on my blog!!!!
ReplyDeleteHow clever are you!!!! Love this idea!
ReplyDeleteI love the labels thanks for your generosity.
ReplyDeleteWow!! You have just made this so easy for all of us. I had no idea that you could make caramel sauce like this...so cool!!
ReplyDeleteThis is very cool -- kind of a Dulche de Leche sauce. Thanks!
ReplyDeletethose are fantastic.. :) tysm for sharing
ReplyDeleteThank YOU!!! Made some caramel and used one of your awesome label! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the label.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the fun labels, I made Kayla's Carmel Sauce a couple of years ago and LOVED it http://brookestranberg.blogspot.com/2007/12/maybe-strangest-recipe-ever.html But I think I ate more than the rest of the family! lol
This year I made Hot Fudge Sauce and wow it is good and easy. Just remember to cook it a bit otherwise you just end up with chocolate sauce, which is still good. but the hot fudge flavor is OH SO GOOD!
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/06/hot-fudge-sauce.html
One more YUMMY thing I tried this year is cinabon caramel corn another yummy thing that is easy! See my theme here, yep EASY! but GOOD! lol
http://brookestranberg.blogspot.com/2009/12/totally-fabulous.html
I promise you will love both of these :)
Lovely labels... I'm much too late reading this post :) But I have one idea for future baskets you do... could put in pretzels and let the recipients dip them in caramel. OO yumm!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the cute labels!
Wow! This is so neat i have never heard of this. And your labels are beautiful! If I ever make this (and now I really want to) I will be sure to post the photos on my blog and link over to you for the labels. So cool! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteBuying memory cards is such a chore... You have to Google prices, filter through which ones are genuine, step out and walk around a bunch of stores,compare prices, finally buy your memory, and then hope that the price doesn't fall in the next two weeks or so.
ReplyDeleteI've been f'd over by rapid price drops in the past... especially this one time when I bought a Micro SD card for my R4 gaming flash card at what apparently was a steal, only to later see that it fell $5 in a week's time.
(Submitted from R4Submit for R4i Nintendo DS.)
Thank you. This was yummy and I am to make more for my great neighbors. Thanks and Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this! I've made them several times for gifts and can never give them all away because it is so yummy! I linked it to my blog for the second time because it would make an awesome wedding favor! Thanks again for sharing.
ReplyDeletemmtncrfts.blogspot.com
Thank you Michelle! These are all super! I appreciate the stove-top method of prep for this sauce, too. I've seen lots done in the crock pot, but would probably use this method instead!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Joy
Hey you can also make a quick and easy carmel pie (just like the ones at O'Charley's!) Graham cracker crust (store bought) and one or two cans of the carmel (cooled) and then whipped cream and mini chocolate chips and you're done!! YUMMY!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome. I love the gift labels. This will definitely be given out this Christmas. Thanks for linking up.
ReplyDeleteMichele
I can't wait to try this! My mom couldn't believe that I didn't remember her making it when i was little. She sandwiched it between graham crackers.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone help me? I cannot get the labels to download!!
Thanks!!!