Salted Caramel Sticky Rolls...

    It has been snowing here for three days straight! For our family this is not bad news, unless you have to survive work, school and all the other responsibilities of the week before you can play! We are chomping at the bit to get out and ride! Patiently waiting for Saturday to arrive, I decided to appease my crowd with a warm ooey gooey treat!

    I often try out new recipes and experiment with rolls. I have yet to find one my heart is set upon in my quest for bakery perfection. For this batch I found a pretty tasty recipe at Lost Recipes Found. The name of the recipe? Giant Glazed Cinnamon Rolls! YUM! You too can try this amazing recipe here. I substituted half of the AP flour with whole wheat flour and used applesauce in place of the butter in the filling!

    While these were rising I reached for the cream cheese. Realizing it was fat free, I had a problem! You see I do not mind fat free cream cheese and in fact prefer to indulge in healthy options. My husband however would never stand for this! I was already pushing it with the whole wheat flour and apple sauce filling! LOL!

Hmmm! 

    I have been learning how to make salted caramel. My kiddos eat it up! If you have tried your hand at salted caramel you know it can be a pain! I have actually had to throw a pan away! By the time I had removed the hardened sugar crystals from its surface the Teflon was flaking off into our food! "Wow! You put a lot of pepper in the soup!" Bleh! It was not pepper!

    So here is my salted caramel recipe. Along with a few beginners tips! 

*First: While heating, do not stir your sugar water! I learned this the hard way! Stirring causes the quick evaporation of the water and you are stuck with a hard dried up chunk of sugar, even if you add more water you will have a difficult time achieving the right consistency, and it will keep drying up. Combine your water and sugar in a saucepan and stir until dissolved over low heat until dissolved. Once dissolved do not stir again!

*Second: Every time I remove my amber colored sugar from the heat and add the cream, no matter how slowly I whisk it in, it still sets up too quickly! Again making hard clumps. Once the sugar is colored a deep amber simply turn the heat to low and add the cream, and butter. I like to keep it over heat because it will keep it warm enough that your caramel will stay nice and smooth! I am no pro! Just a few tricks I have learned that have kept me from pulling my hair out!

Salted Caramel

1/2 cup white granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup heavy cream

3 1/2 Tbs unsalted butter

1 t salt

     In a large saucepan combine sugars and water. Stir until dissolved. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Do not stir during this phase! Boil the sugar water until it is a deep caramel color. Usually 5-6 minutes. Turn heat down to low and slowly stir in the heavy cream. The mixture will be hot so be careful! Keep stirring to prevent any clumping, gently crushing any lumps that may form. Add butter and salt. Keep stirring over heat until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a glass container and allow to cool. To reheat simply microwave in 10 second increments.