Salted Caramel Sauce

We had a fun family BBQ on Labor day to mark the end of summer.  Oh wait . . . it's been over 90 degrees ever since then :)  Well, to mark the end of summer vacation before the kiddos headed back to school.  It was a really fun afternoon and to keep things easy, I opted for a simple dessert:  ice cream.  I bought vanilla and a couple of dairy free flavors and then made some toppings.  The first was chopped up strawberries with some sugar and the second was this salted caramel sauce.  I've wanted to try my own salted caramel for awhile.  When I made Des's Pumpkin Bread Pudding for Thanksgiving, I used a jar of sauce but I bookmarked this recipe.  It was really easy and it's soooo tasty.  Since having it on ice cream, we've also made milk shakes with it - yum!!  It may make an appearance in my Christmas gifts this year so if you're nice to me between now and then, you might end up with a jar :)

Salted Caramel Sauce (makes 1.5 cups)
from "Cooking Channel TV"

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 T unsalted butter
1 tsp. kosher salt (I used coarse salt and crushed it a little with the back of a spoon)

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combines the sugar and water over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves.  Increase the heat and bring to a boil, without stirring - this is important for a good result.  Boil until the syrup is a deep amber color, about 6-10 minutes.  Remove the sugar from the heat and carefully whisk in the cream.  The mixture will steam and bubble like crazy - be prepared.  Stir in the unsalted butter and salt.  Whisk until the butter is all melted.  Transfer to a dish and cool.  It will keep in the refrigerator for a few weeks.