Spicy Apple Caramels

Our classic apple caramels with a twist: Spicy Apple Caramels!! Caramels with fruit purées are a delicate and special thing — ours have as much fruit as we can stuff into them because we always want a fruit- and flavor-forward confection, with sugar providing structure and background flavor. “Apple Caramels” sounds kinda bland to me (I’m a stone fruit person, ok?), so I’m always surprised by how great these caramels are. We get local tart apples and goose the flavor with unpasteurized local apple cider and apple cider vinegar, then add ancho, chipotle and cayenne chilies. Everything tart and toasty and spicy and warming, balanced nicely with a coating of 65% chocolate, garnished with pink Hawaiian sea salt.