MY OTHER RECIPES
These caramel candies are made with boiled apple cider and taste just like apple pie!
Ingredients:
- 4cupsapple cider
- 2teaspoonsfleur de sel(or other flaky sea salt)
- ½teaspoonground cinnamon
- ½cupunsalted butter(cut into cubes)
- 1cupgranulated sugar
- ½cuplight brown sugar
- ⅓cupheavy cream
Directions:
- Boil the apple cider in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan over high heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to a dark, thick syrup, between ⅓-cup and ½-cup in volume. This could take anywhere from 35 to 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper, leaving excess hanging over the sides. In a small bowl, stir together the fleur de sel and ground cinnamon.
- Once the apple cider has finished reducing, 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 of the pan, and let boil until the thermometer reads 252 degrees F, only about 5 minutes or so.
- Immediately remove the caramel from heat, add the cinnamon-salt mixture, and stir several times with a wooden spoon. Pour the caramel into the prepared pan. Let sit until cool and firm, about 2 hours.
- Once the caramel is firm, use the parchment overhangs to lift it out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Using a very sharp knife (or large pizza cutter - my secret slicing weapon of choice) coated with non-stick cooking spray, cut the caramel into 1-inch squares. (You may need to re-spray the knife or pizza cutter multiple times while cutting.)
- Wrap each caramel in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting the sides to close. The caramels can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe Notes:
Nutritional values are based on one caramel
Nutrition:
Calories: 42kcal
Fat: 1g
Saturated fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 5mg
Sodium: 74mg
Potassium: 18mg
Carbohydrates: 6g
Sugar: 6g
Vitamin A: 1.3%
Vitamin C: 0.2%
Calcium: 0.4%
Iron: 0.2%
I made these for the first time today (first time ever making caramels).The recipe was easy to follow and everything came together well as I had every ingredient measured out and ready to go when needed.After letting them set up, they were very soft. They cut with little trouble as long as I kept the knife coated with Pam.The taste is like the perfect apple pie!! I will make these again!
What apple cider is it? Is it apple cider juice or apple cider vinegar?
Hi Laura, Well it’s just plain apple cider, which I guess is closest to a juice, but still different. Definitely don’t use vinegar!
Have made these caramels several times and they are awesome. I substitute apple pie spice for cinnamon, and I like them soft so I pull them at 244°.
I have been making these caramels every year for the holidays since I first saw it here on Brown Eyed Baker. They are fantastic and always a huge hit! I happened to be looking up the recipe as I was making the first round for this year’s festivities and decided to tell everyone if you are thinking about making these just take the plunge and do it because they are soooo worth it!
I made these last week with boiled apple cider from King Arthur Flour. They are super easy to make and so delicious!
love the recipe but the cooled caramel still sticks to the parchment paper. Any advice?
Oh no! Try lightly greasing the parchment, although it might keep them from staying twisted shut.
my apple cider got dark but not thick…I hope this still works.:(
Is 252 degrees at sea level. Because I am a mile high and from what I read I should reduce about 10 degrees
If using KAF boiled cider, would you still use the 1/3 to 1/2 cup that you use for reduced cider? These look amazing! Thanks!
Hi Linda, I haven’t used that product and am not sure how concentrated it is, but I would think you could substitute 1:1 for the reduced cider.
These are amazing! I’ve never tasted anything like it:)
These were easy to make, and EVERYONE loves them. I had a bad experience making caramel before, but this is easily my new annual treat. I cut them into modest-sized pieces so I could mail them out to a lot of people (accidentally 144 plus the pieces I ate before counting…) and they were still a good mouthful.
I found these and couldn’t wait to make them! I was visiting my grandma, so she and I decided to give them a shot. Overall, very easy to make! Once the apple cider boils down, it’s a breeze! I will say though, WAY too salty for both of our tastes. I’m planning to make another batch this evening with my roommate. I think I may up the cinnamon content and add a pinch of nutmeg. I will reduce salt by at least half. I may also add a touch of vanilla (I’m a big believer in the added vanilla flavor in all baking!)
I ended up sprinkling more salt on top. I LOVE SEA SALT oh man. I’ll take your extra half ;D
Can you make the recipe in a way that doesn’t include heavy cream? Heavy cream doesn’t exist in Sweden :(
Hi Evelina, I don’t know of a way, unfortunately. Heavy cream is a staple ingredient in both caramel sauces and candies.
Do you have whipping cream? That what I use.
Vispgrädde! Super Swedish.
Mine stuck horribly to the wax paper even after I sprayed it with cooking oil. Any suggestions for the future so I can prevent this?
Elizabeth, Are you talking about inside the pan, or the wrapped individual pieces? The pan should be lined with parchment paper, not wax paper. The caramel will be so hot when you pour it into the pan that it will likely fuse with the wax paper, which is what sounds like happened.
That’s exactly what happened! Oh we’ll live and learn. What I was able to salvage was absolutely delicious and I will definitely be making again shortly. I did talk to a buddy of mine who is a pastry chef. He recommended for really sticky candy using a Silpat ( or any silicone baking mat) or heavy duty foil that’s been greased. Thanks for your help and happy holidays! :)
I had trouble getting mine to solidify as well. The top layer did, but the bottom portion did not. Any thoughts about how to fix this? I used the proper size pan and everything, so I don’t think that is the problem. I also did not make any changes to the recipe.
Hi Sarah, Unfortunately, if it doesn’t set up, the likely cause is that it wasn’t cooked long enough/to the correct temperature. You’ll want to make sure that whatever thermometer you are using is properly calibrated.
Would I need to start over or is it possible to try to reheat it to the proper temperature and then have it set again?
Hi Sarah, Unfortunately, I have never tried to reheat caramels back to a liquid state and am not sure that it would work. You could certainly try it, but you might end up needing to start from scratch.
I had the same issue on one of my batches. Instead of throwing out, I scraped the too soft caramel into a jar and reheated as an awesome caramel topping for ice cream.
Wow those are great and sooooo easy to make!! I made a batch today and my husband is stealing them all to give to his coworkers… Guess I’ll have to make another batch very soon… Thanks!! :)
Tried out this recipe as a trial run for Christmas gift baskets, texture and color were perfect but mine came out way too salty :( I used fleur de sal but I might have mismeasured or something. Super disappointed because everything else about them came out perfectly, but that’s why I do trial runs! Can’t wait to try this one again!
I thought they were too salty as well. If I make them again I’ll probably just leave it out all together.
As for the waxed paper squares. Just tear off the waxed paper at about 3 inches, then cut in thirds. I make a different caramel recipe and that’s what I use for those. You can cut 3 or 4 layers at once. I am going to make these NOW! They sound fantastic.
The flavor of these caramels is wonderful, but I shouldn’t have gone clear to 252 degrees, too long so they are harder than I like. 8 sec. in the microwave softened one up enough to eat!
Mine didn’t set ! Y?
Hi Nicole, If it didn’t set, it’s because it wasn’t cooked long enough/to a hot enough temperature.
I made these this evening! Overshot the temp on the last step just a hair and ended up with some really, REALLY chewy caramels. :( Additionally, these were very salty-I’m wondering if I used the wrong kind of salt! If not, I’ll cut it in half next time. Other than that, they were delicious, and I’m looking forward to making them again (right, next time)!
Hi Allison, Did you use a flaky sea salt, like fleur de del or maldon?