Dulce de Leche

Another recipe for apples!  This one makes an amazing caramel like sauce that tastes so good as an apple dip.  It was so easy too!  One can of sweetened condensed milk will fit perfectly in 3 (4 oz) jars  or you can do 2 cans of milk in 3 (1/2 pint) jars.  I actually used 3 (4 oz) jars and 2 (1/2 pint jars) when I tried it out and it worked great.  I haven't tried stirring in vanilla yet--I read that if you add vanilla then wait until it cools off or else it could curdle.  I also could barely cover the 1/2 pint jars in my slow cooker with water but it worked fine and the water never evaporated away--it stayed covered the whole time.  I started this at 9:30ish at night and they were perfectly done by 6 am the next morning, so 8 1/2-9 hours was perfect for my slow cooker.  Mel warns not to try cooking it on high because those who had tried that ended up with a burnt mess.  I'm giving the 4 oz jars to the ladies I visit teach with a couple apples today.  This would be an easy and fun neighbor gift for Christmas or whenever.

DIY DULCE DE LECHE
(from where else?)

Makes 1 1/2 cups

INGREDIENTS

2 (14-ounces each) cans sweetened condensed milk
1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste, optional
3 (1/2 pint each) canning jars with lids and rings
Water

DIRECTIONS

Open the cans of sweetened condensed milk and portion them equally into the three canning jars. Wipe the tops and sides of the canning jars, if needed, in case any of the sweetened condensed milk spilled down the sides. Place a lid and ring on the canning jar and screw tightly to seal. Put the three canning jars in a slow cooker and cover with water by one inch. It doesn't matter whether the jars are laying on their side or standing up straight - do what works best for the size of slow cooker you have. Place the lid on the slow cooker and set to low for 8-9 hours, until the dulce de leche is deep golden brown. Carefully remove the jars from the hot water and let them cool. If desired, open the jars and stir in 1/2 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract into each jar. Replace the lids and rings and store in the refrigerator. Supposedly it keeps in the refrigerator for up to a month - good luck getting it to last that long!
The dulce de leche can be warmed up on low heat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a pan of water to be drizzled over ice cream, used as dip for apples, spread over crepes etc. We also enjoy it cold or at room temperature for a spread on bananas, apples, sweet breads (like banana or zucchini). The options are endless!