5 Ingredients or Fewer

Whiskey Caramel Sauce

December  4, 2014
4.7
6 Ratings
  • Makes four 5-ounce jars
Author Notes

A simple 5-ingredient caramel sauce made boozy with a splash of whiskey. This caramel is perfect for holiday gifting or served over cake or ice cream for a make-ahead party dessert. —Becky at Vintage Mixer

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Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
  • 2 cups light brown sugar
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup whiskey
Directions
  1. Place all of the ingredients, except the whiskey, in a medium pot over low heat. Stir until melted and combined.
  2. Turn the heat up to high and bring the caramel to a boil. Once it is boiling, turn the heat down to medium-high and gently boil for 3 more minutes.
  3. Remove the pot from the heat and add the whiskey, stirring constantly, as the liquor will cause the caramel to bubble back up.
  4. Pour into individual jars. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

14 Reviews

mckenzie November 30, 2021
Incredibly delicious. I panicked the first time I made this thinking it was too liquidy, but it firms up a TON after sitting, even just at room temp. I’ve now made it a handful of times and everyone always raves.
Patricia H. March 14, 2021
This is simply amazing and super simple - I doubled the recipe and got 12+ half cup jars. Great for gratitude giving and with the whiskey perfect for St. Patrick's Day!!!
Christie C. December 21, 2019
Just made this for some holiday gifts and it’s so good I need to make more for myself! Simple recipe.
Jocelyn H. December 20, 2018
I just made this and put the jars in the refrigerator and this morning I woke up and it looks like it's all jailed together it's not a sauce anymore it looks totally different than it did last night. Is that normal? How do I get it to be sauce again? What did I do wrong?
Jocelyn H. December 20, 2018
Gelled together not jailed.
Becky A. December 20, 2018
Just warm it up and it will thin back out! Since it has butter in it it will harden and soften like butter does.
Jennie June 28, 2018
I’ve made this a few times now and I swear the first time I made it the recipe reheated just fine and did not crystallize. Every time since, the caramel is initially fine, but gets gritty as it cools. Is that normal or am I not cooking it long enough?
genevieve January 3, 2016
Love this recipe. So easy and delish! I didn't have light brown sugar so used the dark brown sugar I had on hand. So glad I did! Came out deep, dark, and rich. Served with an apple pudding cake and vanilla ice cream.
Becky R. January 6, 2016
Genevive, I'm so glad you enjoyed the caramel! Your apple pudding cake sounds incredible! I'd love that recipe if you have a link to it! Take care, Becky
genevieve January 6, 2016
The apple pudding cake was a total mistake! I attempted to make the apple cake recipe in the F52 Genius Recipes book, but misread the flour amount. Only discovered I used a third of the called for flour after it had already baked 45 ninutes. Decided to try and remedy it by making a batter with the remaining flour another egg and some warm milk and mixing it into the cooked cake then re-baked for another 30 minutes. Came out okay, but eager to get the actual cake recipe right! You can probably find a proper apple pudding cake recipe somewhere out there.
Barbara March 16, 2015
This sounds wonderful, and I'm sure it would make lovely gifts, but where can I also get those adorable little bottles?
Becky A. March 16, 2015
Barbara, the bottles are from Sur La Tab. Hope that helps!
Marcella December 24, 2014
I made this last week for a group of friends and it's so delicious I just made another pot for other friends. The whiskey flavor really comes through and is just strong enough. It's really perfect!
MQAvatar December 17, 2014
Looks delicious! Doesn't the brown sugar actually make this a butterscotch sauce?