Dulce de Leche -- The Easiest Method Ever!!

I am fairly new to dulce de leche; I just know I want to bake with this deliciously thick, creamy caramel for the holidays AND that it is expensive. I received a lot of replies to my post asking you if you knew anything about making dulce de leche. One response, from Pam H., has made me a very happy camper!! She sent me a link to A Year of Slow Cooking. There, they had a "recipe" for making this stuff in your crockpot!!! Yes, you heard me right, the crockpot!! I was very skeptical, but last night, I put it to the test and let me tell you it works like a dream!!! Thank you so much to Pam H. for sending me the link.

I must start out this post by telling you that the people that make Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk never anticipated people heating their product in an unopened can. As a matter of fact, I'm sure they would disapprove, so please, if you try this method, use common sense caution. I am a little concerned that some of you are talking about boiling an unopened can in a pot of water. I CAN NOT RECOMMEND THAT BECAUSE I HAVEN'T TRIED IT. It may be very safe, it may not, I just don't know. I would hate to have the can blow up on you. Some web sites recommended cooking it in a pressure cooker, so the cans must be pretty tough. All I know is that the low & even heat of the crockpot for 8 hours worked extremely well for me.

All you do is place the UNOPENED can of sweetened condensed milk in your crockpot and fill the crockpot with water, making sure that the water is at least 2" above the top of the can. Put the lid on and cook on LOW for 8 hours...that's it!!! Take the can out of the hot water carefully, and let it cool for at least a couple hours before you open it. If you aren't going to use it right away, don't even open the can, just label it and put it back on the shelf!! It could not be easier. This is what it looked when I opened the can:

Crockpot Dulce de Leche