Crockpot Caramel

Did you know that you can just fill your crockpot with water, submerge a can of sweetened condensed milk in the water, and set the crockpot on low for 8 hours and BAM! Caramel! Or for those of you who are picky, "dulce de leche" technically, or über-technically "manjar". Whatever it is, it's yummy to dip your apples in.

I removed mine from the can and put it in a mason jar, since I read that there is a slight chance the can could burst (I do not need another incident like the cherry kefir incident earlier this week). Some recommended putting a slight puncture in the can to avoid this risk, but I was also leery that heating the can might cause extra BPA to seep into the milk. 

This project combined two of my loves, the crock pot and Mason jars, and it turned out quite nicely, especially for the minimal amount of effort required. It was a beautiful caramel color, the texture was more gelatinous than caramel, more like a pudding. I dipped some Annie's pretzel bunnies in it, and the combination of sweet and salty was delicious, I had to stop myself before I ate the whole bag. I am looking forward to enjoying the rest as a snack with apple chips this week.

I can imagine this being a nice and easy hostess gift: take a basket and fill it with apples and place a jar of homemade caramel in the center, maybe tie a little red bow around it.