the season is officially upon us—! Though I don’t visit Starbucks–for coffee–as much as I used to, there are still plenty of other reasons to stop by, like breakfast sandwiches + fun seasonal cake pops for a special treat after school. Since receiving an espresso machine as a Christmas gift some years ago, I simply can’t justify going out for something I can make at home.
Ryan + my favorite coffee to order from Starbucks is a grande triple caramel macchiato. It is the perfect ratio of coffee: milk: sugar. I’ve enjoyed learning new recipes to make with at-home espresso for years, but hadn’t found the ultimate caramel recipe until –this week–!! So now, I give you the most delicious + ridiculously easy to make caramel recipe. Don’t forget to keep it in the fridge once it cools, because it’s made with butter + cream- k? Mine is stored in a small mason jar with plastic wrap. I also really loved how this recipe didn’t make an absurd amount of sauce.
I had a craving too close to carpool time one day this week to make the Starbucks run work, so I made the caramel, made the coffee then made the school pickup run. There’s a lot to love about this recipe, but my favorite part was how it practically made itself. There’s no stirring involved while the sugar + water “cook” down, then adding the cream + butter was all sorts of gratifying to my senses as I watched the yummy caramel sauce come together so quickly.
The BEST part? I sliced some apples for an extra-special fall snack of apples dipped in caramel——homemade caramel + the kids LOVED it. I had not intentionally planned to be so seasonally on point, I suppose it was just that bit of something special in the air!
This yummy pick-me-up instantly lifted my afternoon so much so, I even used the only orange mug in the house! if you know how i feel about orange, then you know this is an unusually big deal. Bring on the fall foliage, autumn–I’m so ready for it.
Halloween decor is coming up next, y’all! Stay tuned.
…from our porch to yours,
porches + pillowfights 