I have found the most perfect quick gift/stocking stuffer idea, and it’s all thanks to a fellow food blogger – Colleen from the Food Blog. This is her recipe and I advise you visit her blog to check it out and the other great things she has going on. This recipe is so simple and easy, I’m sure you have everything you need for it right now (except maybe for the whipping cream!).

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp salted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp course sea salt

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1) In a large heavy sauce pan, put the sugar and water and stir. Have all other ingredients at the ready.

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2) Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil. DO NOT STIR. Swirl the pan around often. The recipe says to boil for 15 minutes or until it turns a medium amber colour – my stove took a while longer.

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3) When the colour is right (don’t adjust for the fact that there is cream going into it like I did, it won’t change colour at all) – remove from the heat and slowly pour in the cream. It will bubble up and steam will be coming out from everywhere, so be careful!

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4) Whisk the cream, then the butter, vanilla and salt. Whisk until smooth and leave to cool. Once it’s cool, you can pour it into jars and pretty them up for a great Christmas treat!

My first batch- this one was a lot darker than the rest!
My first batch- this one was a lot darker than the rest!

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Tips:
-When I whisked in the cream the first time, it was perfect and I had no lumps – however subsequent batches resulted in some lumps and for the most part, I couldn’t crush them up so I removed them from the sauce.

-If your caramel is a little more darker than normal caramel, it still turns out pretty tasty! My first batch was pretty dark and I thought I might’ve burnt it but it tasted like Almond Roca. yum.

-I tried to double the recipe but it was a bit of a fail on my part, I think i’ll stick to making one batch at a time until I feel more confident doubling it.