You know how you have internet friends and sometimes they become real-life friends? No? Well, I’ve found through blogging that I’ve met some of the kindest and sweetest people, including one pretty mama-to-be, Chelsea from This Grand Adventure! Today a few of my internet (and real life) friends and I are throwing her a baby shower, complete with favors, pizza, and cute cookies. Chelsea is a sweet, lovely fellow blogger and I am so excited to be taking part in her shower!
I am so happy to finally be able to post this apple cider caramels recipe These suckers took 3 tries to get right, and I’m not even sure that I still know the ins and outs of candy making, even after all of that trial and error. The first time, I broke the candy thermometer my fiance gave me for my birthday (along with a bowl he gave me, eek!), so since I didn’t really want to eat glass laced caramels, I threw that batch out. Oh, and did I mention that when I broke the candy thermometer it was the second time boiling the caramel mixture?! Oy! The next time, I thought I had it totally on point, boiled everything down, added the rest of the ingredients and poured into a pan to chill. Still, no dice. My caramels came out soft and didn’t set, so back into the pan they went! Third time is a charm, they worked. I think I made them a little more on the slightly burned side, but it must not have bothered anyone in our house, because they were gone in a day (or less than? Don’t judge me). I adapted this recipe from Dessert for Two’s small-batch caramel recipe, but used maple syrup in place of sugar and swapped out butter for tahini. I wanted to keep the apple cider part of the caramel, but add in a little more creamy/nutty flavor with the tahini. I used a lovely jar of tahini that Soom Foods sent over and I have to say, this stuff is goooood. I used the regular tahini in this caramel recipe, but I really want to try the chocolate flavor too.
Want to check out some of the other lovely dishes brought by other bloggers to the baby shower? Check them all out here:
Art of Natural Living–Baby Shower Washcloth Bunny Favors
Order in the Kitchen–”Hello World” Airplane Sugar Cookies
The Sweetphi Blog–Hot Air Balloon Shapped Pizza {Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza}
The Speckled Palate–Indoor Smores
The Frosted Vegan– Maple Apple Cider Caramels
Karis’ Kitchen–Thumbprint Cookies
Stew or a Story– Whole Grain Apple Scones with Homemade Caramel Sauce
Maple Apple Cider Caramels
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 20 pieces 1x
- Category: Candy
- Cuisine: Candy
Description
Maple apple cider caramels with a hint of tahini!
Ingredients
- 2 cups apple cider (I love Trader Joe’s Spiced Cider)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons tahini
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons almond milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
Instructions
- In a saucepan over high heat, boil the apple cider until reduced down, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high and add the tahini, maple syrup, and almond milk.
- Boil until the caramel reaches the hard ball candy stage or 255 degrees F. A good way to test when it is ready is to drop a teaspoon of caramel into a cup of water, if it remains solid, it is ready.
- Pour into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until set. Slice into pieces and wrap in squares of parchment paper.
Lynn Lovejoy says
Wow! Sounds like you put a lot of time, effort and LOVE into these caramels! Love all of these baby showers they are so cute 🙂
The Frosted Vegan says
I know,right?! Lots of time, love, cursing, etc. Haha!
sweetphi says
You’ll just have to have your fiance buy you more equipment and plates, right? And perfect because Christmas is coming up…all the presents! Thanks for participating in the virtual baby shower girl 🙂
The Frosted Vegan says
Ohh I like the way you think! Hmm, hopefully he will see this and get the hint 🙂 Thanks for putting it all together, you are a doll!
Julia says
Huge congrats to Chelsea!! And how sweet are you for trying at these delicious caramels until the recipe came out just right! Seriously, your recipe is throwing my mind into a must-make-this-now-or-I-will-die conundrum! Tahini?! Gah, it’s so brilliant! These make for the perfect holiday gift slash midnight snack!
The Frosted Vegan says
yes yes yes!! Eat one batch, gift one batch, right?!
[email protected] says
Gorgeous! Truly, these caramels would have really, REALLY hit the spot when I was preggo!! Congrats, Chelsea!
The Frosted Vegan says
They hit the spot for me, so I can only imagine! : )
hipfoodiemom says
oh my gawd, I love Soom Tahini!! Have you tried their chocolate sesame butter?! I am obsessed! love these maple apple cider caramels! so inventive and creative! and congrats to Chelsea!! 🙂
The Frosted Vegan says
I haven’t but I can’t wait to try it! I mean, chocolate tahini? I’m SO in.
I Wilkerson says
I love when the apples juice runs out of a pie and caramelizes on the edges of a pan. These sound amazing. Congrats on persevering to get them right!
cakeoversteak says
Oh my goodness I have such a hard time with caramels. The first time I made any I totally nailed it, and then I’ve basically failed every other time I’ve tried. They’re so finicky! I never would have thought to swap tahini for butter … I bet that gives a really interesting flavor.
Trisha (Stew or a Story) says
Candy making is tricky, but so worth it in the end. I LOVE the idea of tahini in these, and that they seem a little healthier. Can’t wait to try for the holidays!
Erin @ The Speckled Palate says
What gorgeous little candies! And what a fabulous way to celebrate Chelsea — I love when blog friends become real-life friends!
I’ve been in the same situation with making caramels. I’ve broken more than one candy thermometer (and have sliced my hand on a broken bowl to add insult to injury) and had less-than-perfect caramels, too. But what matters is this recipe turned out… and it sounds absolutely DIVINE! Nice work!
The Frosted Vegan says
Ouch, sliced a hand? That’s the worst! We just have commitment to homemade candies! : )
whiskandshout says
These look awesome! Kudos to you for working hard to make these happen 🙂
The Frosted Vegan says
Thanks girl! Now I’m kind of addicted to making them : )
Jennifer Farley says
These look amazing!
The Frosted Vegan says
Thank you Jennifer!
Nienke / / Drumles in Den Haag says
Really cool. I would love to make them but scared I will fail….since your story tells me it;s so difficult…hm..
The Frosted Vegan says
You never know until you try, right? It’s worth a try. The good thing is that if they don’t set up, you can always heat the mixture back up and try again : )
Sophie33 says
I made these tasty treats & they were the best I have ever eaten! xx
Ashley Melillo says
It’s been too long since I’ve caught up on blog reading, and I’m drooling over all of your recent recipes, Abby! Especially these caramels. Maple, apple cider, and caramel are three of my favorite fall things, but combined together? Oh my. Can’t wait to give these a try! Have a wonderful holiday!
The Frosted Vegan says
Thank you Ashley! I know how that goes, they pile up after a while, right?!