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Jump to Recipe | Save RecipeI love caramel candies. I always had them as a kid and I loved how sticky they were, even though they were probably super bad for my teeth. I would always find it a fun game to see how fast I could unstick it from the roof of my mouth or my back molars. I’m sure you’re thinking, “wow Julie was a weird kid.” Haha, but I really liked the Werther’s soft caramel that they came out with several years ago. I think that’s my favorite caramel candy, until, of course, I made my own!
I made these apple cider caramels because it was one of my bucket list items to conquer in the kitchen. I really wanted to learn how to make some sort of candy in the kitchen and I knew caramels were a pretty easy way to start but something about boiling sugar just freaked me out and I refused to do it. I just always got this vision in my head that it’d splatter all over my arm and I’d get horrendous burns. Dramatic, much?
I finally decided to conquer that sugar fear and just do it! Turns out, there’s nothing really scary about it and it’s actually super easy and low maintenance. Although, I will say, that if you ever want a really good arm workout, cut some caramels. That was the hardest part of all this. Cutting this the next morning. I Google’d it and a lot of tips came up with guitar string. I don’t have guitar strings just lying around the house so I just decided to use the sharp warm knife approach. It worked well but man, after cutting about 64 caramels, my arm and hands were sore!
Apple cider caramels literally just scream Fall. I mean, I just picture orange and red leaves, a large apple orchard, and crisp, beautiful weather! They’re so soft and chewy too that you can’t have just one :)
**Note that the boiled cider and apple pie spice that appeared on the blog earlier this week are both used in this recipe!

Apple Cider Caramels
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 2 cups sugar
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup boiled cider
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
The default measuring system for this website is US Customary. Unit conversions are provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. While we strive to provide accurate unit conversions, please be aware that there may be some discrepancies.
Equipment
Instructions
- Lightly grease an 8x8" baking pan and line with parchment paper with overhangs on opposite sides. Set aside.
- In a large, nonstick pot, combine cream, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and boiled cider. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce to medium-high heat and cook without stirring until the candy thermometer reaches 248 °F. It will take about 20-30 minutes depending on your stove and pot.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the salt and apple pie spice.
- Carefully pour the mixture into the prepared pan and let it stand for 12-18 hours at room temperature before cutting into 1" squares.
- When cutting the caramels, run a very sharp knife under hot water until it's warm to the touch then spray both sides with cooking spray and cut caramels in a sawing motion.
- Wrap caramels in wax paper.
Recipe Notes
NUTRITION FACTS
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.
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Shannon
Saturday 18th of November 2017
Question for you. I made these last night and my candy thermometer was only going up to about 230 after 45 mins so I used my instant read and it was at almost 300 so I took it off and the caramels are very hard. I’m not sure if there is a difference between the candy one and the instant read. If you have any insight that would be helpful. I’d like to try and make another batch but don’t want to ruin them.
Julie
Saturday 18th of November 2017
So I don't dabble much in candy but I did a quick google search and it says there is a difference between candy thermometers and instant reads. If your candy thermometer read 248, that is usually the temperature for soft ball candy. I'm not sure why it turned out so hard. Perhaps you could maybe try for 220? I'm reading my candy thermometer and it says 220 is almost getting to a soft ball consistency. I'm also wondering where your thermometer is clipped onto your pot?
Kalani
Tuesday 7th of October 2014
Can you make plain caramels?
Julie
Wednesday 8th of October 2014
Yup, it's a similar process just without the boiled cider and apple pie spice.
Jane
Monday 29th of September 2014
I would like to know how long these apple cider caramels will keep. Thank you for your time.
Julie
Tuesday 30th of September 2014
Hi Jane, they should keep for a few weeks but they do get harder the more you let them sit out.
monet
Sunday 24th of November 2013
12-18 hours or 12-18 minutes? So confused!
Julie
Sunday 24th of November 2013
12-18 hours. 12-18 minutes would not be enough time for the caramel to set up.
Erica
Wednesday 20th of November 2013
Hello! These look wonderful! Thank you for sharing them! I was just wondering how long they last after making them? I want to make them for a Christmas party and am wondering how far in advance I can make them. Thanks! :)
Julie
Thursday 21st of November 2013
I would make them maybe 2-3 days in advance. You don't want them to get too hard sitting around, but also, after they've sat for several days at room temperature, they tend to lose their nice square shape. It kind of just turns into a blob, lol