Dulce de leche (pronounced: [ˈdulse ðe ˈletʃe]; Portuguese: doce de leite [ˈdosi dʒi ˈlejtʃi] or [ˈdose de ˈlejte]) is a South American confection prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk to create a substance that derives its taste from the Maillard reaction, changing flavor and color.[3] Literally translated, it means "candy of milk" or "candy [made] of milk", "milk candy", or "milk jam" in the same way that dulce de frutilla is strawberry jam. It is popular in Latin America, notably in Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela. The dulce de leche of El Salvador has a soft, crumbly texture, with an almost crystallized form. Mexico had versions as manjar (vanilla flavored) or cajeta which is made from goat's milk. In Cuba, dulce de leche is made from soured milk that's curdled and then sweetened. In the Dominican Republic it is made with equal parts milk and sugar with cinnamon, and the texture is more like fudge. In Puerto Rico dulce de leche is sometimes made with unsweetened coconut milk.

Dulce de leche is also popular in the only Hispanic country in Asia, the Philippines, where it is usually paired with cakes or breakfast rolls. As in other places, it has also found its way into other desserts such as cakes and ice cream.

A French version, known as confiture de lait (literally "milk jam"), is very similar to the spreadable forms of dulce de leche.

The Norwegian HaPå spread is a commercial variant that is thicker and less sweet. The name is an abbreviation of "Hamar" where it originally was made and "Pålegg"(spread). "Ha på" literally means "put on" as a reference to putting it on a slice of bread. HaPå originated during the Second World War when, due to the scarcity of supplies, housewives would boil Viking-melk (a type of condensed milk) to a very similar type of spread. After the war the production was commercialized and continues to this day.