Salted Caramel Sauce (Vegan)
An easy homemade caramel sauce that doesn’t use butter and takes under 10 minutes to make. This is a recipe where Dorian would note that it’s important to pay attention and not leave the stove.
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 unsweetened oat milk creamer or coconut cream*
- 1/4 tsp salt
Directions
Whisk the sugar, coconut oil, and cream together in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low. Continue whisking roughly once a minute for 5 to 8 minutes, until the simmering mixture has slightly reduced and reached a temperature between 225 and 300°F. If you don’t have a cooking thermometer, simply watch to make sure it doesn’t burn, and remove from heat after 8 minutes.
Stir in the salt, then transfer to a glass container to cool at room temperature.
The caramel sauce will harden as it cools, so it’s ideal to add it to recipes the same day you make it. But if you don’t use it up that day, store it in a covered glass container in the fridge for up to two weeks. To soften enough to use the leftover caramel sauce (which will have become a block of caramel candy!), remove it from the fridge at least one hour before using.
*Coconut cream is sold separately in small cans, but it’s also the hardened cream at the top of cans of full fat coconut milk. So if you don’t have a creamer on hand for your coffee, coconut cream serves the same function in this recipe.
Faux Salted Caramel Sauce (Vegan)
This isn’t a true caramel, but is an easy way to get a caramel-like flavor without cooking. Add a dollop of this caramel-like sweetness to anything that could use a pop of creamy sweetness, like the cookies below.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted dates, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
Directions
Add the dates to a blender without soaking water, but don’t toss the soaking water yet.
Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth, roughly 1 minute in a high speed blender. If the mixture is too thick, add some of the date’s soaking water little by little, until it blends well into a sauce.
Use immediately, or store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Almond Butter Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan, Plus a Gluten Free Option)
This recipe works well either as breakfast or dessert—the only difference is whether you drizzle caramel sauce on top for added sweetness!
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour*
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/8 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Melt the coconut oil on the stovetop or in a microwave, then stir the three wet ingredients into the dry mixture.
Scoop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart. You should end up with around 12 cookies.
Bake for 12 minutes, then let cool on the tray.
While the cookies are baking, if you’re making dessert cookies, make one of the salted caramel sauces to drizzle on top after they come out of the oven.
*Variation: For gluten free cookies, simply omit the flour (there’s not much in the recipe to start with) and bake for only 10 minutes. This version will be softer and doesn’t travel as well, but it’s every bit as tasty.