Delicious Dulche de Leche .......... the Easy Way!

Delicious Dulce de leche is a delightful, thick, caramely South American dessert sauce that has become very popular in recent years. Literally translated it means "sweet jam" or "sweet milk jam"............

Dulce de leche can be made totally from scratch, simmering milk and sugar, stirring it almost constantly for hours until it caramelizes and becomes thick, gooey and gloriously sweet. While I'd like to tell you this is how I do it, I simply don't have even a fraction of this kind of time and I bet you don't either!

Probably the most common way to make Dulce le leche is to place a can of condensed milk in a large pot of water, bring the water to a boil and let the condensed milk magically transform into Dulce de leche over a few hours time. While this method is simple, it not only takes quite a bit of time, but it also scares me - if some of the water evaporates and the can pokes it's nose out of the water, you risk an explosion that would not be pretty!

The method I'm sharing today is quick, easy, safe and yields excellent results ................ in the microwave! Just make sure you start out with a large microwave safe bowl as the mixture will bubble up quite a bit and create quite a mess if your bowl is too small. Other than that, just give it stir every few minutes and in less than twenty minutes, voila! - delicious Dulce de leche! Try it as an ice cream topping, swirled into brownies, as a filling for layer cakes, on pancakes or French toast, stirred into coffee, in a milkshake.................. the possibilities are endless.......have fun!

Delicious Dulce de leche - Microwave Style!

1 can sweetened condensed milk
sea salt, a pinch
1 teaspoon vanilla
milk or half and half, as needed to thin

1. Empty the sweetened condensed milk into a large microwave safe bowl.
2. Microwave on medium power for two minutes.

3. Remove from microwave and stir with a wire whisk. Be careful; the mixture and bowl will get very hot and remain that way throughout the process.

4. Microwave on medium power for three  minutes. Remove and stir again. Continue this process until mixture is thick and caramel colored,  total time of about 20 minutes.  If you like it a little deeper in color just microwave a bit longer.

5. When mixture is fairly thick (it will get thicker as it cools) and deep caramel colored, you're just about done. Remove from microwave and add vanilla and a pinch of sea salt. Stir until smooth with a whisk then pour into glass jars to store. If mixture is too thick once it is cooled add a tablespoon or two of milk or half and half and return to microwave for 30 seconds - then stir well to incorporate milk. Serve over ice cream, fresh fruit, cake, etc.

Adapted from WikiHow

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