Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram Well, it’s basically official, no other baby has had their actual birthday figured out so far in advance. There is nothing like buying tickets for something right when your baby is due to make sure that’s when you go into labor. Also, can we get a round of applause for Eric’s wisdom in silence. He is a huge Star Wars fan, and this was the FIRST time I heard him mention the fact that the Star Wars finale is coming out exactly when our son is due. Maybe he hears enough complaining from me about the Christmas issue that he figured the Star Wars conflict was minor in comparison. (HE WOULD BE RIGHT.) Husband props, Eric. In all seriousness though, I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that it’s entirely possible I could have my baby on Christmas or really close to it. Is there any worse time to have a baby?? Talk about an anticlimactic birthday! Nobody can compete with Jesus’ birthday, sorry kid! (Do YOU have an entire genre of music dedicated to the day you were born? No? Then sorry, your birthday isn’t as cool as Jesus’ birthday.) Only 6 and 1/2 weeks to go! Can you believe Christmas is so close? Time is just FLYING BY over here. Everything goes SO FAST in your third trimester. (Heavy sarcasm here, in case you’re not a mom and couldn’t tell.) But it will be here before you know it, so get ready for some holiday recipes! Dulce de leche is a fabulous trick to have up your sleeve this time of year! There are many South American myths you can find about a cook who left a pot of sugar and milk on the stove for too long, and was surprised upon returning to find a pot of dark brown, thick and creamy caramel sauce. A happy accident!
Dulce de Leche vs Caramel
No, dulce de leche is not caramel. Caramel is made by heating sugar. Caramel Dulce de leche is a combination of sugar and milk that is heated slowly until the Maillard reaction takes place, or in other words, browning. Is it a bit more mellow than caramel, and lacks any bitterness. It could be described as having a more toffee-like or butterscotch flavor. It’s definitely a lot thicker than caramel. Once the finished dulce de leche has reached room temperature (or after being chilled) it has a pudding consistency, a little softer than peanut butter. All you need is a can of sweetened condensed milk. These are pretty standard, but just in case your grocery store has odd sizes, get one that is 14 ounces. The easiest method by far is to boil an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk. You can do this on the stovetop, in the Crock pot, or in an Instant Pot. Since the can is sealed, none of the milk can evaporate, meaning you don’t have to stir or babysit it at all. Pressure builds in a sealed can, making the process much faster than cooking fresh milk in a pot. First, get that pesky label off. This is optional, but I think it’s easier to peel dry paper off of a can than to fish wet particles of disintegrating paper out of hot water when you’re done. Next, clean the glue off the can. This is also optional, but every brand of sweetened condensed milk that I tried had such a strong glue attaching the label to the can that afterward, the interiors of my pots (stock pot, Instant pot, and Crock pot) were covered in a grimy residue from the glue. I’d rather clean the glue off the can than clean it off my pot. I used Goo Gone and it took about 2 seconds. You can see some of the label floating around in the water on this one, I didn’t clean my can and had to Goo Gone my whole pot. You just have to check every now and then to make sure the can is submerged with water, and if not, add more. Fill the water about 2 inches above the can for stovetop cooking, about to your second knuckle. And lastly, whatever cooking method you use, be VERY careful not to open the can while it is still pressurized! It will spurt molten hot dulce-lava all over you. You need to let it cool down. I like to stick my cans in a bowl of cold water and let them cool down for 30 minutes or so. You can open your can when it is still warm, but tepid enough that you can hold it no problem with your bare hands. Here’s how it looks when you first open it up. Give it a good stir and it smooths out perfectly!
top your ice cream Put it in a jar with a pretty label and give to neighbors as a holiday gift spread it on toast (or English muffins, oooh yes) use it as a cake filling instead of buttercream dip apples/bananas/any fruit into it (this is a great snack for parties and baby showers!) Fill cupcakes Fill doughnuts (Like these Nutella Filled Donuts) but use dulce de leche use it instead of pudding in a trifle stir it into overnight oats top pancakes or waffles. DO IT. Stir into plain Greek yogurt and top with granola and/or fruit Fold into whipped cream and top a cake with it Fill crepes top or stuff brownies or blondies top or swirl into a cheesecake top your pie, or swirl it into the filling Stir it into oatmeal Stuff cookies (Like these Stuffed Gingerbread Cookies, that would be so good!)
Also, make this pie. Recipe coming later this week! It’s the whole reason I did this How to Make Dulce de Leche post, haha. I’ve got ulterior motives people. (UPDATE! Here it is.) Dulce de leche would be such a fun and EASY way to take care of friend and neighbor gifts for Christmas this year. Who could say no to a jar of this stuff?? Give it to them with a few apples for dipping. So fun!
