The cooking challenge this week was caramel. I was so excited to make them and nervous at the same time, because making candy can be dangerous. I can safely say nobody got hurt in the kitchen in the making of these caramels. But, I have to say these ended up not as caramel, but as hard candy—oops.
This recipe, even with the major screw up, are fabulous. It is an apple cider caramel recipe and the thing that went wrong was I let it get above 252 degrees. I would suggest adding the cinnamon and salt mixture when the temp is about 240, and after a little research I would suggest pouring it into the pan to set at 248 degrees. I believe mine probably got close to 260 which is the temperature for hard candy.
Now the flavor, it literally is a roller-coaster ride for your taste buds. You initially get the tart cider, then the sweet buttery caramel flavor, then it finishes with a salty cinnamony swirl. They were so delish as hard candy I can’t imagine how good they would be as caramels. Back to the kitchen.
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As a baker…I love seeing stuff like this!
I like the idea , as a hard candy !! Sometimes the chewy caramel gets into my teeth …..