I first became aware of dulce de leche a couple of years ago when the creative folks at Nabisco put out limited edition Dulce de Leche Oreos. Man, I loved those cookies – I called them “grown-up” Oreos; the flavor was just a touch mature for many youngsters. And though I recognize that the flavor wasn’t quite “real” dulce, I loved them so much I even hoarded a box and hid it in the pantry. Recently my younger son found it and opened it, reminding me again about dulce.

Thick, velvety, homemade dulce de leche

If you have not had dulce de leche, you must try it. It’s a bit like caramel, but it is also so much more than that. It has a rich taste with a lovely velvety texture. Mmmmm.

A few days ago, I decided on a whim to make dulce de leche. Now, one does not often hear “whim” and “dulce de leche” in the same sentence, but even though making dulce de leche does take several hours, they are not work intensive hours.

I saw dulce de leche made on a cooking show a while back and went looking for a recipe. It was easy, though time-consuming, and we had all the required ingredients, so I decided to go for it. Late that evening, I took my lovely thick and golden concoction off the stove and grinned. A little taste made me grin even wider.

Dulce de leche is deliciously sweet and versatile

After cooling and refrigerating the dulce, I began plotting what to do with it:

• On ice cream, of course. Or in ice cream.

• Over cheesecake.

• Dipping apples and pears. Better yet, whip some sweetened cream cheese, spread out in a layer, spread dulce de leche on top of that, surround with tart apple slices for dipping and present for an afternoon snack or sharable dessert.

• Brownies. Use your favorite brownie recipe and after you pour the batter into the pan, spread ribbons of dulce de leche over the top, then swirl in with a toothpick and bake according to brownie recipe directions.

• On crackers.

• In a peanut butter sandwich. Maybe my tastes are just weird, but to me this is wonderful. Yes, I am the same person who cannot stand Fluffernutters. Go figure.

• A dollop would be lovely in S’mores, I suspect.

At this rate, the jar in my fridge won’t last very long. Oh well. Now that I know how to make it, I’ll just have to keep some of this luscious treat on hand.

PointsandPrizes.com Keyword: BROWNIES worth 50 points good through 05/25/08.
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