Apple Cider Caramels

I know we're supposed to be taking a break from all things sugary due to overconsumption from the past several weeks, but I meant to share this with you before the holidays. Once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator.


It's no secret that Deb is one of my favourite food bloggers so when she released a cookbook last year, I knew I had to own it.


Like her website, it's filled with wonderful recipes that I'm itching to try and the ones that I have attempted at turned out foolproof.


I never felt the need to make candy until I came across her apple cider caramels recipe. How brilliant is that combination? Combining two delicious things into one super delicious morsel.


The recipe states that it makes 64 caramels but my total count came closer to 100. Way too much for one family to consume, so I distributed them among 3 different offices and received raves from all. If you have doubts about making this - don't. The hardest part about the whole process was cutting the caramels and wrapping them up.

Apple Cider Caramels
Barely adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

The recipe calls for regular white/brown sugar but I tend to use organic/natural ingredients; please feel free to follow the original recipe as is.

4 cups apple cider
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons flaky sea salt, or less of a finer one
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup natural cane sugar
1/2 cup demerera-style sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
Neutral oil for the knife

Boil the apple cider in a 3-to-4-quart saucepan over high heat until it is reduced to a dark, thick syrup, between 1/3 and 1/2 cup in volume, about 35 to 40 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch straight-sided square metal baking pan with 2 long sheets of crisscrossed parchment. Set it aside. Stir the cinnamon and flaky salt together in a small dish.

Once you are finished 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 reads 252 degrees, only about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on it.

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 it 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. Use a well-oiled knife, oiling it after each cut, to cut the caramel into 1-by-1-inch squares. Wrap each one in a 4-inch square of waxed paper, twisting the sides to close. Caramels will be somewhat on the soft side at room temperature, and chewy/firm from the fridge.