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We Ukrainians have been making sweetened cooked condensed milk (sguschonka) for years, but who knew we were actually making dulce de leche?
What’s in a name right? I discovered a new way of cooking this in the crock pot; a safer way. I was poking around my can of sweetened condensed milk and found this:
Oh snap!! This is exactly what I’ve been doing. I’ve heard the can can explode if it’s not fully submerged in water, but could there have been chemicals from the can entering my dulce de leche? Well, I was inspired to try something new!
Thanks to Pinterest, I learned that condensed milk can be cooked in a crock pot. I took it one step further to ensure the condensed milk remained untainted while cooking…
Crockpot Method for Sweetened Cooked Condensed Milk:
So I used two cans of condensed milk and found 2 little jam jars; washed them clean and poured 1 can of sweetened condensed milk into each. I sealed the tops as tightly as I could by hand.
I then placed them in my Slow Cooker
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The dulce de leche was perfect. The right color and texture. No mysterious chemicals and now I get to lick the spoon.
When choosing a brand of condensed milk, just make sure the ingredients are simple. This was a cheap-o can and it reads “milk and sugar” – sounds simple enough to me! I’ve never noticed a difference between brands. Have you?
I’m dipping into this tonight with apple slices. Also, if you haven’t tried it already, our waffle cakes are a great way to use up your dulce de leche. What are your favorite dulce de leche recipes?
P.S. Once dulce de leche is cooled to room temp, refrigerate if you aren’t using it right away.
Dulce de Leche; Cooked Condensed Milk
Ingredients
- 2 cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
Instructions
- I used two cans of condensed milk and found 2 little jam jars; washed them clean and poured 1 can of sweetened condensed milk into each. I sealed the tops as tightly as I could by hand.
- I then placed them in my Slow Cooker and completely covered them with hot water from the sink; hot water speeds up the process. I set it on high for 4 hours
- and walked away and when it was done, I drained the water and set the cooked sweetened condensed milk cans on the counter to cool. From my reading you can also set it on low for 6-8 hours overnight.
- The dulce de leche was perfect. The right color and texture. No mysterious chemicals and now I get to lick the spoon.
When choosing a brand of condensed milk, just make sure the ingredients are simple.
Notes
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
If you take them out too early and let them cool can you star them back up? I wasn’t home and left directions and got home and realized they weren’t done…
Hi Linda, I haven’t had to do that so I can’t advise. I would imagine it would keep it cooking.
I make mine in the pressure cooker, set timer for 30min and they are ready😄
But slow cooker is good option as well:)
Will have to try ur method.
Please let me know what you think if you decide try this method Tatyana!
It turned out fantastic! however I am going to make some more today and this time I am going to fill the jars 1/2 full using one can of condensed milk and I will set them upright instead of laying them down, I noticed that the water was a little cloudy yesterday I think that I filled them to full and a little leaked out, once they cooled and I took the tops off there was a very small line on the edge that looked like a little moisture got in but it did not make a difference in the texture or flavor. I will also cook it a little longer to make it “spoonable” instead of.pourable. This is going to be my new favorite thing to make!!! Thank You 🙂
You’re welcome Gail! I’m glad you’re enjoying the recipe! Thanks for sharing your helpful review with other readers!
I am trying this today, I have 2 jars in my crockpot 🙂 Now I am wondering how long after it is cooked it will keep in the refrigerator? . My mother use to cook it in the can on top of the stove when we were kids and it never lasted very long, but I am hoping my husband and I can make it last at least a little longer.
Hi Gail, I have never maxed out the life of the dulce de leche, but it should be good for 1 to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, possibly longer if it is unopened.
It does not really matter the time because if you like dulce de leche it wont last more than 5 days. In South America we eat it by the spoon and we keep in the refrigerator until it is gone (but I don’t remember ever to last more than a week, cause everybody eats it
I see that Eagle Brand also markets a Dulce de Leche Caramel Flavoured Sauce in addition to the regular Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk found in most grocery stores. Have you tried their Dulce de Leche product, and if so, is it similar to the cooked method you used?
Where have you been able to find that product?
Hi what if I don’t have a slow cooker is there another way to cook it? Thank you!!!
Hi Natalie, there are other methods to cook it. You can cook it on the stovetop, making sure the tops of the jars are always submerged in water. If using glass jars, it’s best to have a rack on the bottom of your pot so the glass jars aren’t sitting on the hot pot bottom. You would only need to boil it 2 hours on the stovetop.
Iv’e mixed condensed cream and sweetened condensed milk together then cooked it in slow cooker which worked out well. I put it in a large jar without lid and sat it in the slow cooker so dont have to worry about leakages 🙂 I’m wondering if anyone has tried mixing sweetened condensed milk with just condensed milk instead? I was worried it wouldn’t thicken up as well. My husband loves anthill cake but not how sweet it is so am going to use this mixture instead of usual dulce de leche
Hi Sophie, from what I understand, condensed milk and sweetened condensed milk are the same product. Did you mean evaporated milk or something else?
The best is to out it on chocolat cake as filling or cupcakes , or even better mix it with cream cheese and do it like cheesecake
AWESOME IDEA Here in AZ. in the HOT SUMMER I just leave a couple cans out in the sun for 2 days and it turns out awesome. Love eating it when its done on yogurt and ice cream cones with that lushes goodness.
Irene, what a great idea to put them on ice cream or yogurt 😀.
You are a legend! Thank you so much for the idea. It just worked like a charm. I have mixed it with roasted walnuts and it tastes delicious. Regards…
You are welcome :), I’m happy to hear that you like it and thank you for writing in.
My glass cans keep on bloating up about halfway, is it okay if they are not fully submerged in water?
I’m assuming you meant floating up. Are the cans not filled as much as mine were? The condensed milk is usually heavy enough to keep the cans weighed down in the water.
you know once up on a time, I left the condensed milk on the stove full with water and walked away and forgot about it, and 2 hours later I was in my room and i hear, boom, and then i remember about my condensed milk, it exploded, you have no idea how hard it was to clean the sealing, like for 3 hours, thanks for your new method, Love this idea, thanks again
I can only imagine how much of a sticky disaster that would be! I’m happy you like this method :). It’s the only way I do it now.
Hi! Do you think this would work if I use a pressure cooker? Won’t the jars explode? And how long do you think it would take?
Ellie, I think it would take 5 minutes for them to explode, LOL. I never tried cooking condensed milk in the pressure cooker and don’t know if this method works. But if you are brave enough to try it out, let me know if it works :).
I’ve been wanting to make dulce de leche but wondered if cooking it in a can would be okay! Thanks for clarifying this.
I have a question: I don’t have a slow cooker but I have a heavy based casserole pot. Would that work too?
Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to trying this and your perfect vanilla cupcake recipe!
You can cook it in a pot just be sure to keep the jar submerged in water. 🙂 It also won’t take as long on the stove.
I just made this, and it turned out amazing!!!!! Wow. One question, how long can i store it for? My lid actually “popped” when i took the jar out of the slow cooker, meaning it sealed just like canned food seals…..
Oksana, you can easily store it in the fridge for couple weeks. I haven’t tested it beyond that :).
Hi Natasha. I followed your recipe today and had this kind of milk color in my crockpot. I think some of the condensed milk escaped. But the jars did not contain any water. I was wondering if you had the same issue before?
I have had that happen before – sometimes there could be a small leak in the jars lid, but no worries, it won’t harm the final product 🙂
Thank you Natasha for your fast response. I love your blog and all recipes!
Than you Zoya 🙂
Found this on pinterest. We have always cooked it on the stove and I’ve never really thought about the chemicals.
http://juliasalbum.com/2012/11/how-to-make-dulce-de-leche-recipes/
Thanks for sharing! I’m definitely familiar with Julia’s blog 🙂
We eat ours drizzled over pineapple slices with Cool Whip on top!
Oh my goodness that sounds so good and simple! 🙂
I am going to try making your banana apple muffins today. I can’t wait to try them and I will let you know how they come out. They seem very simple to make.
I also will try to make your cream cheese frosting today, if I have sweetened condensed milk in the cupboard. If not, another time. thanks for your time to post your recipes.
You’re welcome Natalie :). I hope you love everything you try! 🙂
In Brazil we made this sweet a little different. We use a pressure coooker and the sweetened condensed milk don’t neee to be inside the can. The sweetned condensed milk is cooked about 40 minutes. After to be cooked, we need to wait the can be cool. It’s about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
This sweet is a delicious ande here is named “Doce de leite” 😉
I think it would work well inside of a pressure cooker. Did you put it in a jar or just boil it in the can?
You just boil it in the can, without open, but you need to remove the paper label of the can.
There is a disclaimer on the can about doing that and I’ve heard several disaster stories about the cans exploding. That is why I use this method.