We will refer to this as the Triple B Caramel Sauce from here on out. Although the name is a mouthful, the brown butter and bourbon truly make this caramel sauce special! Drizzle it over ice cream, brownies, or any other dessert really! Or just eat it by the spoonful, we aren't judging!
Is caramel sauce easy to make at home?
Caramel sauce is much easier to make than most people would think, and you don't even need a candy thermometer or any other special equipment. Caramel sauce is made by melting sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat, then adding butter and whisking it all to combine. The most important part here is to observe the color of your caramel. You want to achieve a nice deep amber color. You then add cream and you are pretty much done.
Flavoring your caramel and customizing it to your liking is also easy and fun! We prefer brown butter to give the caramel a bit of that nutty flavor you can only achieve from making a brown butter first (see recipe instructions below). We also like to add vanilla and sea salt to achieve a bit richer flavor with that touch of saltiness that is perfect for desserts. Finally, the bourbon is a must to really make this caramel sauce special. This Triple B Caramel sauce will not disappoint!
How do I store caramel sauce?
Once the caramel has cooled off completely, you can store it in an airtight container (like these Weck jars) in your fridge for 1-2 weeks, but ours usually gets eaten up before it expires! You can also freeze it if you do not feel that you will consume it in 2 weeks.
We hope you enjoy this Brown Butter Bourbon Caramel Sauce recipe! If you give it a try, leave us a comment below or tag us on Instagram @cooking_with_wine!
Check out more of our popular desserts below!
- Texicali Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée
- Dulce de Leche Layered Brownies
- White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake
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📖 Recipe
Brown Butter Bourbon Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 tbs Unsalted Butter (1 stick)
- 1 ¼ cup White Sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- ⅔ cup Heavy Cream
- 2 tbs Bourbon or Whiskey
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Course Sea Salt
Instructions
MAKE BROWN BUTTER
- Cut the butter into 4-8 pieces. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a stainless saucepan.
- Continue to cook, stirring occasionally to keep the milk solids from sticking hard to the bottom. Keep an eye on the color - once the milk solids turn light brown and the smell is nutty, take it off the heat.
- Pour into a bowl and let it cool some while you work on the caramel.
MAKE THE CARAMEL
- Heat the sugar and water in a stainless steel skillet over medium-low heat and stir to combine. Stir the sugar often as it melts with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The sugar will clump and harden, but will eventually melt. Stir and cook until the sugar is not lumpy and it is an amber color. This may take 15-20 minutes and you may need to turn your heat up if excessive clumping occurs until the sugar melts completely.
- Once sugar is completely melted, whisk in the brown butter and thoroughly combine.
- Turn heat to low, and slowly (and carefully) add the cream whisking as you pour. This will bubble significantly, so pour slowly to try to keep it in the pan and not on your stovetop to clean up later!
- Once whisked in completely, add the bourbon, vanilla extract, and salt and continue to whisk until completely combined. Let it cool and pour into an airtight container and store in the fridge. The caramel will thicken as it cools.
Brooke says
This makes my mouth water just thinking about it!!
Angela and Mark says
You should definitely give it a try!!
Lauren Marie says
Can you put up a video? I tried for 2 hours each batch after batch and the sugar kept clumping up and then when I’d cook it longer it’d burn then or when I left some lumps the butter was way too much and didn’t fully blend with the sugar? Was it supposed to be cold from the fridge? I’m just so disappointed I never thought I’d be so far off? I actually consider myself a pretty competent home cook 😭 I want this so badly to top on chocolate espresso cookies!
Angela and Mark says
Hi Lauren! I'm so sorry you are having issues with the recipe. The sugar does clump, but with patience it will melt. It sounds like medium may be a bit too high for your stove. I would go ahead and turn it down to medium low to prevent it from getting too dark or burning. And thank you for this feedback! We will add a note to the recipe to make sure this isn't an issue moving forward.
Lauren Marie says
Thank you for the reply I will try to go slower but I guess the issue is more I can’t tell when to stop it and add the butter. And is the butter supposed to be cold, room temp or soft?
Lauren Marie says
Ok I will try to go slower, but I am having a hard time about knowing when to stop it and add the butter. I seem to overdo it and the sauce starts seizing up and turns to concrete! I also wondering about the butter is it supposed to be cold, room temp, or soft?
Angela and Mark says
Hi again! For a lighter caramel you can add the butter as soon as you see a slight change in color and you see large bubbling across the surface of the sugar. If you continue to have issues with clumping, add 2 tbsp water to the sugar at the beginning to help the sugar melt.
For the butter, since you brown it before the sugar, it will be at room temp, and possibly still a bit warm when you add it.
Brian M says
I tripled the amount of water in the recipe and brought the sugar to a boil, and it worked flawlessly. The problem with this recipe is it doesn’t have enough water do the sugar is prone to clumping.
Angela and Mark says
Good tip! Thanks for making our recipe!
Karen says
I realized I had to turn down my heat and give the sugar time to melt before stirring too much. After that, everything went together beautifully and this caramel with the bourbon in it is absolutely delicious! My husband and I were pouring it on everything. thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Angela and Mark says
So happy to hear that you loved it! It's especially great on all the upcoming fall desserts 🙂
Lily says
If I wanted to substitute the sugar for maple syrup, would that work and how much should I use?
Angela and Mark says
Hello! We have never attempted this substitution with this recipe, but according to google, this can be done. You can try replacing every 1 cup of sugar with 3/4 cup of syrup, and you can omit the water in this recipe. Again, we have not attempted this and can't say if it will work out or not, so if you decide to try out this experiment, let us know how it works out!