Browned Butter Salted Caramel Sauce -- Twenty Apples, Zero for Me, All the Love Anyway

Halloween 2027. Michael's second Halloween and Pearl's first, though Pearl is four weeks old and has no opinions about Halloween or costumes or the candy that she will not eat for years but that her brother is already eyeing with the focus of a sugar-seeking missile. Michael is dressed as a chef. Devon found a tiny chef's hat and a tiny apron and when they put them on Michael, he looked at me and grinned and I said, "Lord, he looks like me." He does. He looks like a tiny, male, two-foot-tall version of Dorothy Henderson, standing in an apron, ready to cook.

Pearl is dressed as — and I cannot believe I am saying this — a shrimp. Devon strikes again. A shrimp costume. For a four-week-old. The baby is a shrimp. The baby named after Hattie Pearl Williams, the finest cook in Savannah, is dressed as a crustacean. I looked at Devon. Devon grinned. "It was on sale," he said. Kayla said, "I tried to stop him." She did not try very hard. The shrimp costume is adorable. Pearl is adorable in it. And somewhere, I believe, Hattie Pearl is looking down and saying, "Dorothy Mae, they have dressed my namesake as a shrimp, and the shrimp is wearing a bonnet, and I have opinions about this."

I made caramel apples. Twenty this year — fewer, because the diabetes requires that I respect the caramel-making process from a distance, which means I make less and I eat none and I give all of it to the children who ring the doorbell. Eight children came. The child dressed as a shrimp from three years ago did not return, but we have our OWN shrimp now, and our shrimp is named Pearl, and she is the cutest shrimp in Chatham County.

After the trick-or-treaters were done, we sat on the porch — me, Denise, Robert, Kayla, Devon, Michael (chef hat still on, eating a caramel apple with the seriousness of a food critic), and Pearl (shrimp costume, sleeping, the most relaxed shrimp in Georgia). The porch was full. The night was cool. The family was here. The costumes were ridiculous. The love was not.

Now go on and feed somebody.

Twenty caramel apples, and I did not eat one. That is the deal I have made with my body, and I have made my peace with it — mostly. But I will tell you this: I still made the caramel from scratch, because a caramel apple made with store-bought sauce is not a caramel apple, it is a disappointment on a stick. The secret is the browned butter, which takes this sauce from good to something that makes a two-year-old in a chef’s hat stop mid-bite and look at you like you have done something important. Michael looked at me exactly like that. It was worth every single apple I did not eat.

Browned Butter Salted Caramel Sauce

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 16 (about 2 cups)

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt (or 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Brown the butter. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, stirring occasionally, until it turns golden and smells nutty — about 4 to 5 minutes. Watch it carefully; it goes from browned to burned fast. Pour the browned butter into a small bowl and set aside.
2. Melt the sugar. In the same saucepan over medium heat, pour in the granulated sugar in an even layer. Let it sit undisturbed until the edges begin to melt, then gently stir with a heat-resistant spatula, pulling the melted edges toward the center. Continue until all the sugar is melted and a deep amber color, 8 to 10 minutes. Do not walk away from the stove.
3. Add the browned butter. Remove the pan from heat. Immediately add the browned butter all at once and stir vigorously. The mixture will bubble up dramatically — this is normal. Keep stirring until the butter is fully incorporated.
4. Stream in the cream. Slowly pour in the heavy cream while stirring constantly. The caramel will bubble and steam again. Return the pan to low heat and stir for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth and fully combined.
5. Finish with salt and vanilla. Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla extract and sea salt. Taste and adjust salt to your preference.
6. Cool and store. Let the sauce cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a jar. It will thicken as it cools. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Rewarm gently before using as a dip for caramel apples.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 112 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 13g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 148mg