This is the only caramel sauce recipe you'll ever need! Make it thick for filling cookies or keep it thin for drizzling over sundaes or cheesecake. Just 25 minutes to make!
Note: melted sugar is very hot, do not touch the caramel until it’s cooled.
Combine sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. If any sugar crystals form on the sides of the pan, dip a pastry brush in water and use it to sweep away any sugar crystals.
1 cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup water, 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup, ¼ - ½ teaspoon salt
Turn heat to medium and cook without stirring until mixture turns caramel in color (this can take about 15 minutes or so) and reaches a temperature of 340-345F (171-173C).
Remove from heat and very slowly drizzle in cream while stirring. Mixture will bubble a lot, use caution.
½ cup heavy cream
Once cream is incorporated, stir in butter, one piece at a time, until mixture is smooth.
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Add vanilla and stir until incorporated.
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Allow caramel to cool before using (unless serving warm over ice cream, then just let it cool until warm enough to consume).
Notes
Corn syrup
Caramel may be made without corn syrup but is more likely to turn out grainy, which is why I recommend including it. You could also substitute golden syrup.
Cream/Making a Thick Caramel Sauce
For a thicker caramel sauce, you may reduce the heavy cream to ¼ cup (60ml). This makes a chewier, taffy-like caramel that can be used for filling caramelitas or alfajores.