Dulce de leche!

¡Feliz Navidad! Though I am now employed, I still had to take the cheap way out and make a few Christmas gifts. So I decided to make Dulce de Leche! My friend Anna told me you could just boil a can of sweetened condensed milk and get a version of Dulce de Leche. It doesn't compare to the real thing, but it satisfies a craving.

I read a few recipes online and went for it.

And failed. Don't poke holes in the top of the can. I read this on a few websites alongside warnings of exploding cans and tried it. The milk leaked out and the cans were making some pretty violent sounds.

So I started over and managed to get it right the second time. Here is what I did!



Take the labels off of a few cans of sweetened condensed milk. Do several, because it takes 2-4 hours. The only other thing you will add is a little vanilla. And love, but that is optional.



Stick the cans in water in a large pot. It needs to be deep enough that the cans can submerged in the water by an inch or so. All the recipes I looked at said this will keep anything from exploding. Sounded good to me.



Boil the cans in the water for 3-4 hours. If water starts to boil off the top, make sure to add more (so the cans don't explode...). I boiled mine for just under 4 hours, but I think I could have boiled them a bit longer.

Cool down the cans before opening them (again, explosion rumors). I just left the cans in the pot and threw in a few ice cubes and cold water. You should get something that looks like this (and tastes like heaven):


To make it even yummier, add a bit of vanilla. I added about twice as much as is shown in this photo.












And the final result!!


This shortcut to happiness is worth it. Try it on pancakes and crepes or use it as a dip for apples, pretzels or nuts. YUM! My friends Matias and Pablo would tell you to skip the crepes & apples and just eat it with a spoon.