FAVORITE STORE-BOUGHT CARAMEL SAUCE

My darling friend, Ashley, told me about this (curse her).  For $3.69 you, too, can have a jar of this addicting treat.  Trader Jacques--oui!

By the way, we've been loving these last two days of heavenly rain--on a three day weekend, even better.

BEST BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE - Smitten Kitchen

For my birthday dinner (New Year' Eve, thank you very much), all I wanted were homemade tacos and butterscotch sundaes. Perfect.

I made Smitten Kitchen's Ridiculously Easy Butterscotch Sauce--I could have eaten the whole jar by myself and no one would have been the wiser (after all it was my birthday). But I shared with my family and everyone loved it. It is also super easy to make and doesn't require a candy thermometer (which is good since I don't have a candy thermometer).



So if you like butterscotch or caramel, run to your kitchen and start cooking. Unless, of course, you are trying to stay away from indulgent foods (if so, I'm sorry that you had to see this). You can always save this recipe for "later".

Ridiculously Easy Butterscotch Sauce
Adapted loosely from TheWashingtonPost, who adapted it from The Perfect Cake

Yield: About 2/3 to 3/4 cup sauce

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons, 2 ounces or 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed dark or light brown sugar (Smitten Kitchen used dark, I used light)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt (or 1/4 teaspoon regular salt), plus more to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, plus more to taste

Melt butter in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar, cream and salt and whisk (a flat whisk works great) until well blended. Bring to a very gentle boil and cook for about five minutes, whisking occasionally.

Remove from heat and add one teaspoon of the vanilla extract, stirring to combine. Dip a spoon in the sauce and carefully taste the sauce (without burning your tongue!) to see if you want to add additional pinches or salt or splashes of vanilla. Tweak it to your taste, whisking well after each addition. I used close to a full teaspoon of flaky salt and the listed amount of vanilla to get a butterscotch sauce with a very loud, impressive butterscotch flavor but the strength of your vanilla and intensity of your salt may vary.

Serve cold or warm over vanilla ice cream, or pound cake, or straight from the jar with a spoon. The sauce will thicken as it cools. It can be refrigerated in an airtight container and reheated in a microwave or small saucepan.

To do ahead: This sauce will keep at least two weeks in an airtight container in the fridge (but good luck with that!)