Peanut Butter Caramel

This peanut butter caramel is sweet, salty, and just a tad peanut buttery. It makes for a delicious topping to your dessert or some fruit. Homemade caramel sounds hard, but you can make this easy recipe in just 10 minutes.

[This recipe was originally posted in March 2018. It has been updated with new photos, cooking instructions, expert tips, FAQ, related recipes, video and ways to repurpose/use up ingredients]

How will this peanut butter caramel make your life better?

This 10 minute homemade peanut butter caramel sauce would make a great dessert dip, or even better, a holiday gift! OR these chocolate covered oreos, homemade hot cocoa mix would both make great holiday gifts.

If you haven't made homemade caramel or thought of it before, now's your opportunity. it's surprisingly easy! (plus, people would be super impressed with you)

What makes this caramel sauce so good?

• Dark brown sugar packed
• Heavy whipping cream
• Salted butter
• Vanilla extract
• Peanut butter powder

How do I make this PB Caramel?

Add ½ c heavy whipping cream, 4 T butter, and ¾ c brown sugar to a medium sized pot. Stir well. Cook over medium-low heat.

As it cooks, the caramel will develop consistent bubbles and will thicken up a bit. Do not stir caramel while it's cooking or it will get clumpy.

Check caramel at 7 minutes, if it's thickened a bit, then take it off heat source, if not cook for 2 more minuets. It'll look like it's almost as thick as you think it should be. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 teaspoon peanut butter powder, after it's been removed from heat source. Then serve or pour into a glass bottle and refrigerate to save for later.

Dip apples, graham crackers, and other treats into this caramel sauce. Or serve over ice cream.

Expert tips

• Peanut butter powder is a great flavor enhancer for this caramel
• Use dark brown sugar to get a deeper caramel flavor.
• Do not stir while cooking, or caramel may become clumpy.
• Remove right before you think it's thick enough. Once it seems thick enough, it'll harden pretty easily.
• Swap peanut butter powder for 1-2 teaspoon creamy peanut butter if you don't have peanut butter powder.
• Dip apples, graham crackers, and other treats into this caramel

FAQ

How do you make caramel sauce thicker?

Just keep boiling caramel sauce until it's almost to the desired thickness. Caramel sauce gets thicker by water evaporating through boiling it. It usually takes 5-10 minutes to boil enough water out of the sauce to thicken it.

How do you fix broken caramel sauce?

Caramel can get too thick and harden up, it can also be too thin. If it's too thick, set it over gentle heat and slowly add water or whipping cream back into it so it thins out. If it's too thin, cook for a few more minutes to thicken up.

How do you cook caramel without crystallizing?

Try to not stir it when it's cooking. If you stir caramel too much, it can get clumpy because the sugar crystals hook up to each other. Try to stir before heating, heat over gentle heat, and then stir again once it's thickened up and you've removed it from the stove.

How can I repurpose this caramel?

• Add caramel peanut butter to yogurt
• Serve over ice cream, maybe even with this homemade strawberry sauce.
• Top this delicious yogurt tart with caramel sauce and apples

What can I make with leftover ingredients?

• Heavy whipping cream: add to this Creamy Asparagus Soup or Sweet Potato Soup.
• Peanut butter powder: add it to a smoothie, like this Triple Berry Smoothie with Granola or Strawberry Banana PB Smoothie.
• Keep the other ingredients in your pantry for other baking recipes.

Did you make this peanut butter caramel? Leave me a comment & rating to share how it turned out!

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