Apple Cider Caramels: Potions Master
Lake Champlain Chocolates makes some excellent Apple Cider Caramels. I tried some, which was a mistake the best idea. They're truly delicious, but rather expensive. I do recommend buying some (maybe split it with friends!). However--as their website points out--their apple cider caramels are often in limited supply and high demand, so what are you to do when the shelves and/or your wallet is empty?
Make your own, of course! My initial Google search led me to this Brown Eyed Baker version of the recipe, though the commenters below pointed out that it could also be found at Annie's Eats, and both had sourced their recipe from Smitten Kitchen. None of these had chocolate-dipped caramels; I added that detail myself. So now that you have the bibliography, let's get candy-making!
And first, let me tell you: do not be afraid. This recipe may be time consuming but it is super, super easy. I promise. I use too many words in this version of the recipe but that's only because I'm explaining all the things I learned as a first-time candy maker. You can do it too!
Things you will need:
-4 cups apple cider (Is there anything better than local apple cider? Not many things.)
-1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
-1 cup granulated (regular) sugar
-1/2 cup brown sugar (recipe indicated "light" brown, I didn't have any and can confirm regular works fine)
-1/3 cup heavy cream (hint: this is near the coffee creamer in the store)
-2 tsp flaky salt (recipe indicates "fleur de sel," which is really cool and Hannaford Inspirations sells it if you can't find it anywhere else, and I've heard other salts should work okay too)
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (recipe indicates "ground" cinnamon but honestly who has anything else laying about their kitchen, of course it's ground I don't have a stash of whole cinnamon sticks or a cinnamon tree)
-Semi-sweet chocolate chips (I think 2 cups would cover it, which is usually one bag. Better buy two just in case though. And more if you're doing molds that use more chocolate, you might want to get 3 bags. Just in case. Too much chocolate is never a problem. I used Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet because I'm fancy.)
-Crisco (2 Tablespoons per 2 cups of chocolate chips)
-Candy thermometer (these are not scary: if they get all crusty with dried-on caramel all you have to do is wrap a soaking wet paper towel around the bottom and let it sit for a while and it all comes right off. Trust me! Also they are super cheap. You don't need a big fancy one, just one that can clip on a pan.)
-Sauce pan for boiling the candy (Again, it will wash out fine. Don't worry. I worried. But it was fine!)
-Parchment paper (it is with the waxed paper and aluminum foil in the store. Make sure it is parchment paper; parchment paper is different than waxed paper.)
-8"x8" pan (probs other shapes would work though)
-Microwave safe bowl
-Several little bowls for measuring out ingredients in advance. The key to making this recipe easy is setting everything out pre-measured as if you're on a TV cooking show, so you don't have to stop and think when the candy is hot.
-Pizza cutter, cutting board, non-stick spray, cookie pan, waxed paper, toothpicks (all for the after-caramel chocolate phase)
Ready? Okay! Measure out all the ingredients for the caramels (leave the chocolate and crisco for later):
Cutting the butter into cubes is weird, but easy enough with a large knife. It helps it melt faster and more evenly later.That middle dish is the cinnamon and salt mixed together; there's not very much of it, it's all spread out thin.
The other piece of prep is lining the 8x8 dish with parchment paper. This was harder for me than it should have been; I've now learned to cut a larger piece than I need so there's more to wrap around and tuck under the edges. Otherwise it's not going to want to stay. I actually used some tape the first time.
And the star of the show is, of course, the apple cider! Boil it on high heat for 35-40 minutes, until it has reduced to about 1/3 - 1/2 of a cup. Recipe says stir "occasionally," but I am a complete worry wart and hovered over it stirring almost constantly. Besides, I felt like a potions master. Well, a potions novice. I didn't want to turn my back and have Snape take 50 points from Gryffindor! (Actually Hufflepuff. I am a Hufflepuff, so says the official Pottermore site. Heyy to my Hufflepuffs.) Also I am not actually sure if the recipe meant bring it to a boil AND THEN boil 35-40 minutes, or that 35-40 minutes is the total stove time. So, I wrote down both times and kept an eye on it. With my slow stove, the time fell somewhere in the middle of the two.
Also, beware the bubbles! Right near the beginning when it first starts to boil and then again when it's almost done, the cider will bubble wayyyy up so keep stirring it and it will go down again. This makes it difficult to tell when the cider is actually at 1/3 to 1/2 cup, so I would keep tipping it up off the heat into the corner so I could let the bubbles go down and see how much liquid was left. ...that might have added to my boiling time.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Once you're ready, take the pot off the heat and add in the butter, sugars, and cream (not the cinnamon-salt yet!), stirring it up until it's uniform; then clip on the candy thermometer and back to the stove it goes, at a slightly-reduced medium-high heat.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
WATCH THAT THERMOMETER. This time you're only waiting until the temp gets to 252, which is only supposed to take 5 minutes. Mine took wayyy longer the first time, and the candy came out harder than I'd have liked (although everyone said it was still delicious). Round two, which is this round, I was determined to make a softer caramel so I only let it get to maybe 242 and made it read more accurately by tipping the pan occasionally and stirring it such that the thermometer was deeper into the caramel. It worked--softer results this time. :) Though next time I'm going to go for even softer.
When it's at the desired temperature, remove from heat again and stir in the cinnamon-salt mixture, then pour the whole thing into your parchment-lined pan and let sit for two hours.
.jpg)
.jpg)
After two hours, the caramel will be bendy but firm. You can lift the whole parchment paper thing out of the pan and onto a cutting board, and then use a nonstick-cooking-spray-coated pizza cutter to cut the square of caramel into strips and then cut the strips into however large or small pieces you want. The pizza cutter I use is a rolly one that your whole hand can grip; it's really great for this use. I made the pieces pretty small; the recipe says it makes 64 but I made maybe 130?
You can then move immediately to the chocolate dipping phase! To make good dipping chocolate, take 2 cups semi-sweet chips and 2 Tablespoons vegetable shortening (Crisco) and microwave on 50% power in bursts of 30 seconds, stirring in between each heating. It takes a while to produce results but this way your chocolate won't burn. Once it stirs smooth, put it in for one more 30-second burst for good measure and you're ready.
Put some waxed paper on a cookie sheet, and have your caramels and dipping chocolate handy. I used toothpicks: one to stab a caramel, dip it in the melted chocolate, and set it onto the wax paper. The other toothpick I used to hold the caramel in place while I twisted the first toothpick out of the caramel. It took some practice but it's not hard. Then as the toothpick came out of the caramel I used it to swirl the top a bit to cover the hole, which has the added bonus of making it look all fancy on top!
.jpg)
.jpg)
Pop those trays in the fridge for half an hour, then package them up. These were gifts, so I used fancy boxes, but you can use ziplocs, colored cellophane, tupperware, or whatever packaging you like. They keep officially for two weeks but are unlikely to last that long because they are delicious.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The first batch I made was for Valentine's Day, so instead of dipping the caramels I used heart-shaped silicone ice cube trays as molds. If you want to use molds, that's super easy too: just put a bit of melted chocolate in the mold, press in a caramel, and put some more in on top to cover it. Swirl that with a toothpick too, and refrigerate for half an hour. I also wrapped those hearts in foil, which is easy: just cut squares of regular aluminum foil and wrap around the chocolate covered caramels. They looked quite professional. Be warned though that using the mold-method usually gives a higher chocolate-to-caramel ratio, and while I love chocolate, many of my tasters agreed that the dipping method was tastier. Something about the meld of textures.
Give it a try! I had never made caramel before, and now I am a pro--this is a really awesome recipe to get started on candy making. Ask any questions about the recipe in comments and I will answer. Let me know how it goes!
Make your own, of course! My initial Google search led me to this Brown Eyed Baker version of the recipe, though the commenters below pointed out that it could also be found at Annie's Eats, and both had sourced their recipe from Smitten Kitchen. None of these had chocolate-dipped caramels; I added that detail myself. So now that you have the bibliography, let's get candy-making!
And first, let me tell you: do not be afraid. This recipe may be time consuming but it is super, super easy. I promise. I use too many words in this version of the recipe but that's only because I'm explaining all the things I learned as a first-time candy maker. You can do it too!
Things you will need:
-4 cups apple cider (Is there anything better than local apple cider? Not many things.)
-1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
-1 cup granulated (regular) sugar
-1/2 cup brown sugar (recipe indicated "light" brown, I didn't have any and can confirm regular works fine)
-1/3 cup heavy cream (hint: this is near the coffee creamer in the store)
-2 tsp flaky salt (recipe indicates "fleur de sel," which is really cool and Hannaford Inspirations sells it if you can't find it anywhere else, and I've heard other salts should work okay too)
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (recipe indicates "ground" cinnamon but honestly who has anything else laying about their kitchen, of course it's ground I don't have a stash of whole cinnamon sticks or a cinnamon tree)
-Semi-sweet chocolate chips (I think 2 cups would cover it, which is usually one bag. Better buy two just in case though. And more if you're doing molds that use more chocolate, you might want to get 3 bags. Just in case. Too much chocolate is never a problem. I used Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet because I'm fancy.)
-Crisco (2 Tablespoons per 2 cups of chocolate chips)
-Candy thermometer (these are not scary: if they get all crusty with dried-on caramel all you have to do is wrap a soaking wet paper towel around the bottom and let it sit for a while and it all comes right off. Trust me! Also they are super cheap. You don't need a big fancy one, just one that can clip on a pan.)
-Sauce pan for boiling the candy (Again, it will wash out fine. Don't worry. I worried. But it was fine!)
-Parchment paper (it is with the waxed paper and aluminum foil in the store. Make sure it is parchment paper; parchment paper is different than waxed paper.)
-8"x8" pan (probs other shapes would work though)
-Microwave safe bowl
-Several little bowls for measuring out ingredients in advance. The key to making this recipe easy is setting everything out pre-measured as if you're on a TV cooking show, so you don't have to stop and think when the candy is hot.
-Pizza cutter, cutting board, non-stick spray, cookie pan, waxed paper, toothpicks (all for the after-caramel chocolate phase)
Ready? Okay! Measure out all the ingredients for the caramels (leave the chocolate and crisco for later):
.jpg) |
| Brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon/salt (mix them), cubed butter, cream |
The other piece of prep is lining the 8x8 dish with parchment paper. This was harder for me than it should have been; I've now learned to cut a larger piece than I need so there's more to wrap around and tuck under the edges. Otherwise it's not going to want to stay. I actually used some tape the first time.
.jpg) |
| Parchment paper meet pan |
Also, beware the bubbles! Right near the beginning when it first starts to boil and then again when it's almost done, the cider will bubble wayyyy up so keep stirring it and it will go down again. This makes it difficult to tell when the cider is actually at 1/3 to 1/2 cup, so I would keep tipping it up off the heat into the corner so I could let the bubbles go down and see how much liquid was left. ...that might have added to my boiling time.
Potions Potions Potions Potions Potions
Once you're ready, take the pot off the heat and add in the butter, sugars, and cream (not the cinnamon-salt yet!), stirring it up until it's uniform; then clip on the candy thermometer and back to the stove it goes, at a slightly-reduced medium-high heat.
Potions Potions Potions
WATCH THAT THERMOMETER. This time you're only waiting until the temp gets to 252, which is only supposed to take 5 minutes. Mine took wayyy longer the first time, and the candy came out harder than I'd have liked (although everyone said it was still delicious). Round two, which is this round, I was determined to make a softer caramel so I only let it get to maybe 242 and made it read more accurately by tipping the pan occasionally and stirring it such that the thermometer was deeper into the caramel. It worked--softer results this time. :) Though next time I'm going to go for even softer.
When it's at the desired temperature, remove from heat again and stir in the cinnamon-salt mixture, then pour the whole thing into your parchment-lined pan and let sit for two hours.
After two hours, the caramel will be bendy but firm. You can lift the whole parchment paper thing out of the pan and onto a cutting board, and then use a nonstick-cooking-spray-coated pizza cutter to cut the square of caramel into strips and then cut the strips into however large or small pieces you want. The pizza cutter I use is a rolly one that your whole hand can grip; it's really great for this use. I made the pieces pretty small; the recipe says it makes 64 but I made maybe 130?
You can then move immediately to the chocolate dipping phase! To make good dipping chocolate, take 2 cups semi-sweet chips and 2 Tablespoons vegetable shortening (Crisco) and microwave on 50% power in bursts of 30 seconds, stirring in between each heating. It takes a while to produce results but this way your chocolate won't burn. Once it stirs smooth, put it in for one more 30-second burst for good measure and you're ready.
Put some waxed paper on a cookie sheet, and have your caramels and dipping chocolate handy. I used toothpicks: one to stab a caramel, dip it in the melted chocolate, and set it onto the wax paper. The other toothpick I used to hold the caramel in place while I twisted the first toothpick out of the caramel. It took some practice but it's not hard. Then as the toothpick came out of the caramel I used it to swirl the top a bit to cover the hole, which has the added bonus of making it look all fancy on top!
Pop those trays in the fridge for half an hour, then package them up. These were gifts, so I used fancy boxes, but you can use ziplocs, colored cellophane, tupperware, or whatever packaging you like. They keep officially for two weeks but are unlikely to last that long because they are delicious.
The first batch I made was for Valentine's Day, so instead of dipping the caramels I used heart-shaped silicone ice cube trays as molds. If you want to use molds, that's super easy too: just put a bit of melted chocolate in the mold, press in a caramel, and put some more in on top to cover it. Swirl that with a toothpick too, and refrigerate for half an hour. I also wrapped those hearts in foil, which is easy: just cut squares of regular aluminum foil and wrap around the chocolate covered caramels. They looked quite professional. Be warned though that using the mold-method usually gives a higher chocolate-to-caramel ratio, and while I love chocolate, many of my tasters agreed that the dipping method was tastier. Something about the meld of textures.
Give it a try! I had never made caramel before, and now I am a pro--this is a really awesome recipe to get started on candy making. Ask any questions about the recipe in comments and I will answer. Let me know how it goes!
A five star treat and so delish!
ReplyDelete