This Bourbon Caramel Sauce recipe is easy to make in 10 minutes and tastes irresistibly delicious drizzled on everything from ice cream to fruit, brownies, pies, cheesecakes, coffee drinks, and more.

BOURBON CARAMEL SAUCE INGREDIENTS

To make this bourbon caramel sauce recipe, you will need:

• Bourbon: Or whatever kind of whiskey you love best.
• Sugar: We’re going classic with granulated white sugar for this sauce.
• Water: To mix with the sugar before boiling it.
• Heavy cream: Room temp (or warmer), otherwise the hot sugar will seize and clump up when this is added.
• Butter: Also room temp, please.
• Vanilla extract: Optional, but I highly recommend adding some for extra flavor.
• Salt: Add in however much sea salt you would like!

HOW TO MAKE CARAMEL SAUCE

To make this salted caramel sauce recipe:

• 1 cup granulated (white) sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature*
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1. Start with sugar and water. Give them a quick stir together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
2. Wait for the sugar to caramelize. Now it’s time for the sugar to work its magic! Turn the burner on to medium-high heat. Then wait patiently and do not stir or touch the pan until the sugar has caramelized. Once the sugar reaches a boil, it will go from being completely clear, to a champagne color, to a light golden color, and then to increasingly darker shades of amber within a few minutes. (Keep a close eye on the sugar, as it starts to darken quickly.)  Once the sugar reaches a deep amber color (about the color of a copper penny), remove the saucepan from the heat and turn the burner off.
3. Add the remaining ingredients. Slowly and carefully pour the heavy cream into the sugar mixture, whisking as you pour to quickly incorporate the cream. (The mixture will bubble furiously when the cream hits the hot sugar, so be very careful!)  Then add in the butter and whisk until combined. And finally, add in the vanilla, bourbon and sea sea salt, and whisk until combined.
4. Serve or store. Then serve the caramel sauce immediately if you would like, while it’s nice and hot. Or let the sauce cool until it reaches room temperature (it will thicken considerably as it cools), then transfer the sauce to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Recipe adapted from Gimme Some Oven, one of my fave recipe blogs!