Salted Caramel Sauce

Pumpkin carving in our house is not complete without caramel apples! As we get older we are less inclined to bite into a gooey apple covered in caramel. If we come across a caramel apple we often times will cut it into wedges so that we can neatly eat it. A few years ago, instead of making actual caramel apples to go with our pumpkin carving I just started making caramel sauce to dip our apples into. Much neater and very yummy!

Of course, I'm probably the one that eats the most apples with caramel. Hubby would be the next most likely and will usually wait for me to eat my portion and then he will finish off the pan. The little guy would rather just have the apple wedges and forget about the caramel. Again, sometimes I would wonder what family he belongs to if I hadn't given birth to this boy!

This sauce is very easy to make and tastes great! I haven't made a low fat/low cal caramel sauce before so I'm not sure if the somewhat grainy texture is due to not using a full fat cream or just the fact that I didn't wait long enough for the sugar to dissolve completely. Either way, texture aside the taste is amazing!

**One little side note: When you are waiting for the mixture to brown don't let it go too long. By about 8 1/2 minutes I was getting a little nervous because my mixture was not turning a brown/gold color. I gave it a quick stir and realized that all the color was happening beneath the top layer. Thank goodness it didn't burn while I was waiting for that top layer to turn color.**

Salted Caramel Sauce
Source: Weight Watchers

1/4 cup fat-free half-and-half
2 tablespoons light stick butter
1/4 teaspoon fine or coarse sea salt
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
4 apples (Gala work great), cut into wedges

Combine half-and-half, butter, and salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture is hot, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, combine sugar and water in a large heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to high and bring to boil, washing down sides of pan with pastry brush dipped in cool water to dissolve any sugar crystals. Boil, without stirring, until caramel turns dark amber, about 10 minutes.

Immediately remove saucepan from heat; let caramel cool 1 minute. Wearing long oven mitts to protect your arms and being careful to avoid any splatters, slowly whisk in half-and-half mixture, whisking until smooth. Transfer caramel to small bowl. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Serve warm with apple wedges.

Makes about 6 servings (1 serving = about 4 teaspoons of sauce)(1 serving = 4 weight watchers plus points)