Dulche de Leche and Apples

When we were trick-or-treating, a neighbor gave us a box of apples from her trees.  They are delicious!  There are a lot of them, and I was in the mood to try out a new recipe.  I came across this on on yourhomebasedmom.com, and I had all of the ingredients already, so I decided to give it a try.

Making your own dulce de leche is an easy process--it just takes time, plan on at least an hour and a half to make the sauce.  The dulce de leche can be done ahead of time and refrigerated until you are ready to use it.

Ingredients needed:

3 Tbs. butter
4 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4 in. slices (using a mix of apples will give it added flavor)
2 tsp. sugar (and cinnamon if you like)

Good quality vanilla ice cream

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Step One:

To prepare dulce de leche:  Put unopened can of condensed milk in large heavy saucepan that is higher than the can.  Add water to come about three-quarters of the way up the sides of the can and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Reduce heat to a very low simmer, partially cover and cook, turning the can over at the halfway point (45 minutes), for a total of 1 1/2 hours.  (You can remove the wrapper in the water with tongs when it falls off.)  Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Let the can cool in the pan of water until it reaches room temperature.  Open the can and pour the contents into a small bowl.  Stir in the vanilla.  The mixture should be very thick and taste like a rich caramel sauce.  Cover and refrigerate.

Step Two:

In large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.  Add apple slices and saute for about 10 minutes, or until softened and lightly browned.  Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over apples and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until they are nicely browned and softened but not mushy.  Remove from heat and keep warm. 


Step Three:
Scoop ice cream into individual bowls.  Spoon warm apples over and then the warm dulce de leche over the apples.  Serve immediately.