Easy Caramel Sauce

As promised, here is the caramel sauce I used on yesterday's bars. this is my go-to recipe I use for caramel sauce all the time - it does not require any whipping cream, or any caramel candies, and is extremely quick and easy. It is perfect as a sauce for cakes, apple desserts, ice cream, and more. It also works as filling and topping for bars and cookies. It hardens pretty quickly, so works well as filling, but can be reheated gently to become more like a sauce. If allowed to harden, it makes a great caramel hard candy. 

Easy Caramel Sauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1/4 cup butter or hard margarine
2 Tablespoons golden corn syrup
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the sugar and corn syrup. Stir until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Turn heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Boil, without stirring, for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir. Slowly stir in the milk, mixture may splatter slightly. Stir in vanilla, if desired.

I have doubled this recipe before, and even halved it for just a small amount. Both work well. This gets really hard as it cools, so doesn't store well. Make it fresh as you need it. Be sure to use either milk that is not fat-free or cream. If you use milk, you may not need as much, depending on how liquid you want the caramel to be.