Southern Bourbon Pecan Caramel Sauce

a jar of bourbon caramel sauce with pecans.

3.92 from 93 votes

Southern Bourbon Pecan Caramel Sauce

A rich, decadent caramel sauce with a boozy shot of bourbon and crunchy toasted pecans. Perfect on ice cream or straight from the spoon.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword caramel, pecans, sugar

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings

Calories 158kcal

Ingredients

1/2 cup pecans
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt
3 tablespoons bourbon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325º. Place pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 10-12 minutes until browned and fragrant. Transfer pecans to a cutting board and roughly chop. Set aside.
Have all your ingredients and utensils close to the stove and pre-measured before you start.
Place a medium saucepan over medium to medium high heat on the stove (if your stove runs hot, use medium, if it's true to temperature heat to medium high). Add sugar and corn syrup. No need to stir immediately.
Bring mixture to a rolling boil and watching the sugar mixture deepen in color. It will go from a light corn-syrup color, to light brown to amber. The change between light brown and amber is quick. Be ready for it.
When it achieves a deep brown (not burnt) color, pour the cream into the center of the pan. It will steam and bubble vigorously -- that's ok. Stir until the sauce is smooth and well blended.
Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the bourbon, sea salt and chopped pecans. Let it cool for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a storage container with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate.
Sauce will thicken as it chills. To serve, microwave the sauce for about 20-30 seconds, then spoon over ice cream, cheesecake, or apple pie.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups of pecan caramel sauce.

Video

Notes

I like to use canning jars for storage because they're easy for reheating the caramel sauce in the microwave. Remove the lid and microwave the jar for 30-45 seconds to soften the sauce before spooning it over ice cream.

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