This easy, gourmet salted caramel chocolate sauce tastes good on everything! Made with chocolate, caramels, half-and-half and sea salt, it’s delicious served over ice cream, swirled in coffee or as a dip or fondue. Make a batch and use the free printable jar labels provided in this post to create thoughtful homemade holiday gifts for friends and neighbors.
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Wouldn’t you like to be my neighbor? For Christmas, mine are getting this delicious homemade nutty salted caramel chocolate sauce.
I like to call this gourmet-easy because it tastes like something you spent hours making from scratch. But it’s really little more than a heat-and-melt recipe, which leaves you more time for the presentation. (But that’s easy, too, using the free printables I’ve created for you!)
This salted caramel chocolate sauce is great served over ice cream or drizzled on whipped cream in your coffee.
Try it with fruit, cookies, pound cake and even salty potato chips. If you make this sauce, it will keep in the refrigerator for about a week — if it lasts that long!
I’m giving this chocolate sauce in miniature 4-ounce mason jars, tied with personalized ribbons and a custom label.
I’m also including a bag of dippers with the homemade sauce — Jet Puffed Marshmallows, pretzels and old-fashioned peppermint sticks. (Shortbread cookies, brownie bites and little bits of pound cake would also be good dipping options.)
Ingredients for Salted Caramel Chocolate Sauce
The full recipe for the salted caramel chocolate sauce is at the end of this post.
You’ll need the follow ingredients to make it:
- caramel candies
- semisweet chocolate
- half and half
- vanilla
- sea salt
- chopped nuts of your choice
How to make the Salted Caramel Chocolate Sauce
- Combine half and half and caramels in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat until melted, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. I loved using my enameled cast iron sauce pan with the pour spout is my pot of choice when making homemade sauces that I want to store in mason jars. It’s so much less messy than pouring from a regular saucepan.
- When caramels are completely melted, remove the pan from the heat and stir in chopped chocolate. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
- Stir in the vanilla and sea salt, and then pour into five 4-ounce mason jars.
- Allow the chocolate sauce to cool slightly before adding chopped nuts to the top.
- Seal each jar with a lid and store in the refrigerator for up to a week, if it lasts that long!
To give the chocolate sauce a festive touch, I created a custom label for the jars and tied them with personalized ribbon. You can buy the printed ribbon or make your own if you have a Brother P-Touch Embellish machine. (I love mine!)
You can download the free printable jar labels below. I did versions for 2-inch round Avery labels, as well as 2-inch circles from OnlineLabels.com.
- Nutty Salted Caramel Chocolate Sauce Labels – Avery version – 12 per sheet
- Nutty Salted Caramel Chocolate Sauce Labels – Online Labels version – 20 per sheet
For the goodie bags, I used cellophane pretzel treat bags. I added a green Christmas tree sticker to each bag, filled with dippers and tied with red baker’s twine.
Now, to go knock of some neighbors’ doors and wish them a Merry Christmas!
If you need more holiday food gift ideas, I have lots more recipes you’ll love to make and give.
Nutty Salted Caramel Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients
- 14 oz. Kraft Caramels or Caramel Bits
- ⅔ cup half and half
- 4 ounces Baker's semisweet chocolate finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup Planter's pecans or dry roasted peanuts chopped
Instructions
- Combine half and half and caramels in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat until melted, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
- When caramels are completely melted, remove from heat and stir in chocolate. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
- Add vanilla and sea salt and stir to combine.
- Pour into five 4-ounce mason jars.
- Cool slightly and add chopped nuts to the top.
- Seal with lid and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin This! Nutty Salted Caramel Chocolate Sauce
Mrs Major Hoff
Totally making this year round, not just for Christmas! So yummy!
laura @eye candy creative studio
OMG – this looks so good! Oh my yum- will have to try this soon! =)
Cori
Oh, this sounds DIVINE. I love salted caramel anything — and this doesn’t look too difficult to make!
Stephanie
What a cute gift to give to friends and neighbors! I love homemade gifts, they are so thoughtful. And making them for others can be so much fun too. Thanks for sharing! #client
Atta Girl Amy
I definitely had a blast making this particular gifts — and of course, I had to sample everything before I gave them to the neighbors. Let me just say, that chocolate caramel sauce is yummy all by itself! But I think my favorite way is to dip marshmallows in it!
Tracey @Let\'s Go Junking
Amy – what a great post. I might just borrow this idea and my neighbors could be receiving this wonderful nutty salted caramel chocolate sauce.
Atta Girl Amy
It really is quick and easy to make. And you don’t have to fuss over it at the stove. I was able to tend to some other things while the caramels were melting over low heat. And the best part of this is you get to eat what doesn’t fit in the jars!