Homemade, from-scratch, whiskey caramel sauce made with Fireball whiskey for extra cinnamon flare! You’ll want this Fireball Whiskey Caramel Sauce on EVERYTHING!
We have to talk about this Fireball Whiskey Caramel Sauce, and it needed to be sooner than later. I have a million and one other fall recipes to share (you just wait!), and they were lined up in front of this recipe. I’ve been baking fall recipes for weeks now, and have an enormous pile of drafts. Somewhere around 40 – it’s crazy.
All of those recipes can wait. I only made this Fireball Whiskey Caramel Sauce last weekend, but I had to move it to the top of the list. It’s that good.
But also, if I’d made this sooner, I would’ve been able to douse a lot of my previous baking alllll over with this caramel sauce. Apple crisps, pies, muffins.. lots of things that are coming up in the next few weeks, and they could’ve been smothered in Fireball Whiskey Caramel Sauce.
I’m saving you from making that mistake. Make this caramel sauce now, and then whatever else you bake this fall, you have it on hand to drizzle generously over whatever it is. Doesn’t even matter, you’ll want this on everything.
However, you don’t even need it on ANYTHING because it’s so delicious that you can just eat it straight from the jar, like I may have done.
I had a few ideas for incorporating Fireball into baking, and some of that is still to come (see here for Fireball Apple Crisp or Whiskey Walnut Spice Cake!), but one idea that I was exceptionally proud of was this caramel sauce. I was planning to make whiskey caramel for an upcoming recipe, and as my mind was brainstorming different ways to put a new spin on that recipe, I came up with the idea of Fireball whiskey caramel. My excitement went through the roof.
I later found out that it’s been done before (what hasn’t?), but I didn’t know that when I came up with it, and so I’m still proud of this ‘original’ idea.
I used an old recipe I had for whiskey caramel sauce, and just subbed Fireball. It. is. incredible. You really get all the flavors, but none are overpowering, and all make their presence known. It’s not too boozy, but you really taste the cinnamon whiskey. It’s not overly whiskey-ish and alcohol-tasting, but you definitely get whiskey, and you know that it’s cinnamon whiskey.
It’s sweet and ooey and gooey, just how you want your caramel sauce, but not cloying. It helps to have that whiskey cut through it.
Ugh, how else do I describe it? You just have to try it. It takes about 15 minutes to make, and it’s EASY. So get to work, and report back. I know you’ll love it too. It is THE BEST topping I’ve ever tried, and I promise you’ll agree!
Fireball Whiskey Caramel Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 c. sugar
- 1/4 c. water
- 1/2 c. heavy cream
- 1/2 c. butter
- 1/3 c. Fireball whiskey
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 c. sugar
Instructions
- Whisk together 1 c. sugar and the 1/4 c. water in a medium saucepan.
- Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes, or until the sugar melts and is no longer granular.
- Cook an additional 8-10 minutes, without stirring, until the mixture is medium amber in color.
- Remove from heat, cool for 1 minute, and then stir in heavy cream, butter, Fireball whiskey, salt, and nutmeg, whisking til smooth.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and 1/2 c. sugar.
- Whisking vigorously, slowly add the egg mixture to the saucepan. You want to add a little egg at a time, whisking quickly, and making sure not to scramble the egg.
- Once incorporated, return the pan to the stove, and cook over medium heat for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the caramel sauce is thickened. Serve warm over ANYTHING.
You may also like these boozy recipes!
We have some old Fireball sitting on top of the fridge I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with … this will do!!! 🙂
Absolutely! You must try it – it is seriously to-die-for!
Caramel and whisky sound like a match made in heaven! Love this idea 🙂
40 recipes in drafts?! That is crazy girl! Even I don’t have that many! Lol. This is so perfect for fall baking!
I know. I WENT INSANE! Lol. I love fall baking though. I just couldn’t stop myself. 🙂
Hi there,
Just ran across your fabulous blog!
Penn State? Ok, I DO love their ice cream!
I was wondering how long this caramel sauce keeps? I am not a canner but could you “can” jars to give as gifts or maybe not because it must be refrigerated?
Just thought it might make a great holiday gift for friends and family. Everyone lives on the East coast and I am in Seattle region so maybe not feasible? And who’s to say a single jar would escape my kitchen if it is as good as it sounds!
Cheers,
Anne
Hi Anne!!
I think it would be fine if it wasn’t refrigerated, honestly, but just in case, I refrigerate mine. I’m not that familiar with canning either, I’ve only made jams and preserves. It would make for an AMAZING gift though!!! To be safe, I’d say it probably should be refrigerated. I hope you can figure out a way to make it work because people would LOVE this as a gift. I’ve been drizzling all kinds of sweets with it. I love it.
Penn State’s Creamery ice creams is totally the BEST!! 🙂
How long will this keep for refrigerated? Thinking of gifts. Thank you, sounds delicious!
I made a few jars, and one of them is about 5 weeks old – it was still good! I would say you’re safe 3 weeks to a month. 🙂
I just made this today and it turned out perfectly. So delicious! I have never used an egg in a caramel sauce before but now i want to experiment with other flavors.
I feel the same way!! What other boozes can I use to spike caramel sauce? This is one of my favorite recipes on the blog! I’m so glad you like it, and that it turned out for you! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
This sounds amazing, but why the egg? What exactly does that do?
Hi Leslie! It helps it thicken, but there are definitely caramel recipes without using eggs, so if you wanted that option, you could probably find one! I think it would be easy enough to spike a homemade caramel sauce with Fireball! This was soooooo good. 🙂 Let me know if you try it!
I made this last night and mine didn’t turn out right my sugar and water didn’t turn an amber color and when I say the pan off for t o cool before adding the othe ingredient and started to stir it was almost hard, and it never thickened up, so what did I do wrong
It might have gotten to hard candy boiling point — do you have a candy thermometer?
Ok do I dare? Want to make the caramel sauce for my Aunt and send it to the West coast. Or better yet the caramel apples, both with fireball of course. At the risk of making her sound like an alchy, what do you think about adding the fireball while cooling? In addition to the flavor, she’s been wanting to try alcohol infused treats for a little kick. I just don’t see consistently good reviews for candies. Thanks in advance.
Hi Rochelle: Hmmm, this is not my favorite type of caramel for sending. It doesn’t preserve as well as others b/c of the egg as an ingredient. That said, I probably will update this recipe with a different caramel recipe so that it will “keep” longer. I think if you add Fireball to many of the caramel recipes that don’t contain egg, you’ll have success with this, and it will transport to the west coast easily!
Hi. Sarah,
Thanks to the pandemic, I’ve become a Pinterest fanatic because I like to cook. Somehow I’m drawn to desserts. Hence, this message. I sent a message earlier but not sure if it went through. Not real savvy. So anyway, I want to send my Aunt both the caramel and apple crisp to the West coast. At the risk of making her sound like an alchy, she’s been wanting to try a (no cook) alcohol infused treat. I don’t find any consistently good reviews. So my question is, would it ruin the whole dynamic to add the fireball while caramel sauce is cooling, and/or mix in apples before crispy topping so as not to cook the alcohol out? Thanks in advance.
To avoid the ‘curdle’, and to make the recipe more travel friendly, how about instead of the last 1/2 cup of sugar and the egg, one would use 1/2 cup of Karo syrup. I have found using Karo in my ice cream chocolate sauce keeps it from sugaring and it basically lasts forever.
That’s a wonderful suggestion! Thank you so much for sharing that tip. That certainly makes this more versatile!
Cant wait to try this! Sorry if this is a silly question, but is there a certain butter that’s best? I use country crock dairy free butter so just curious if that would work fine!
I’m not sure about a dairy-free butter, to be honest! Otherwise, I use any regular salted butter that is on sale. 🙂 Land O’Lakes, Publix brand, anything! I buy whatever is on sale. I hope you love this recipe!