Salted Apple Cider Caramels

Salted Apple Cider Caramels

These delicious little caramels taste like spiced apple cider in a portable form. The recipe is from Deb Perelman, the creator, writer and photographer of the popular food blog, Smitten Kitchen. Her recipes and writing style never fail to lead me back into the kitchen, even on days when I am tired of cooking. The only change that I made to her recipe is to substitute our Apple Spice for the cinnamon. 

Note: Apple cider is the raw, unpasteurized apple juice found in the refrigerated section of grocery stores in the fall and winter.

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Salted Apple Cider Caramels

Deb Perelman

Servings

makes 64 caramels

These delicious little caramels taste like spiced apple cider in a portable form.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups (945 ml) apple cider

  • 2 tsp Hudson Valley salt, divided

  • ½ tsp Apple Spice

  • 8 Tbs (115 grams or 1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks

  • 1 cup (200 grams) turbinado sugar

  • ½ cup (110 grams) packed light brown sugar

  • ⅓ cup (80 ml) heavy cream

  • Neutral oil for the knife

Directions

  1. Boil the apple cider in a 3 to 4-quart saucepan over high heat until it is reduced to a dark, thick syrup, between ⅓ and ½ cup in volume. This will take about 35-40 minutes. Stir occasionally.

  2. Meanwhile, get the other ingredients in order, because there won’t be time to spare once the candy is cooking. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-in. straight-sided metal baking pan with 2 long sheets of crisscrossed parchment. Set it aside. Stir together 1 tsp salt with the Apple Spice in a small dish and mix well.

  3. Once you are done reducing the apple cider, remove it from the heat and stir in the butter, sugars and heavy cream. Return the pot to medium-high heat with a candy thermometer attached to the side and let it boil until the thermometer reaches 252F, only about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on it as it happens quickly.

  4. Immediately remove caramel from heat, add the cinnamon-salt mixture and give the caramel several stirs to distribute it evenly. Pour caramel into the prepared pan. Let sit until cool and firm, about 2 hours, though it goes faster in the fridge. Once caramel is firm, use your parchment paper sling to transfer the block to a cutting board. Using a well-oiled knife, oiling it after each cut, to cut the caramel into 1 x 1-in squares. Sprinkle remaining salt over caramels. Wrap each square in wax paper or cellophane. Caramels keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 2 weeks.