Avoid The Fuss Of Caramel By Making One Sweet Substitute

When people think of a good dessert, they often think of caramel. This tongue-tingling sweet syrup has been the star of the show in some of the best treats around for centuries, whether it's in a simple salted caramel apple cupcake, or in an entire loaf of double-salted caramel cheesecake. But as awesome as it is, caramel has a long-standing reputation for being one of the trickiest ingredients that home bakers can handle. When put on the stove, the sugar can quickly burn, crystallize, or seize up into a sticky nightmare. If dealing with caramel's temperament is too much of a hassle for you, here's an alternative: butterscotch.

The difference between them comes down to the type of sugar they're made from. While caramel is made from white sugar, butterscotch uses brown sugar. Thanks to the molasses, brown sugar naturally contains more moisture and has a higher acidity than its white counterpart, both of which can keep the sugar from crystallizing. Additionally, most butterscotch recipes will call for a knob of butter at the beginning. The sugar gets to melt more gradually and evenly when it's heated together with butter (rather than just melting solo like with caramel), so you run a lower risk of burning.

Because of this, you'll find butterscotch far more forgiving to make. It may not deliver the complex flavor of a good batch of caramel, but its reliability alone makes it a great swap for novice candy makers.

A basic butterscotch is made from two ingredients: brown sugar and butter. Combined and once warmed over medium heat for around five minutes, they'll form a smooth golden sauce. Add heavy cream to thicken up the texture, a little bit of vanilla extract for aroma, and a pinch of salt for seasoning, and voilà, there's your homemade butterscotch.

You can use butterscotch for anything that'll benefit from a drizzle of caramel. That means any kind of ice cream, cake, pie, or brownies — feel free to slow-drip the melty butterscotch on top of them for a decadently sweet topping. Of course, it can also star as the main ingredient in plenty of tasty recipes, like these butterscotch and miso-roasted banana mini trifles. And on next year's Halloween, remember this trick when you have to make candy apples — give them a dip in the pot of hot butterscotch, and you got yourself (or the kids) some awesome sweet treats to spend the holiday.

More dependable and just as tasty as caramel, if you haven't tried making it before, it's definitely worth taking a shot at making butterscotch. It just might become your new favorite dessert sidekick.