Salted Caramel Apple Butter Food

SALTED CARAMEL APPLE CUPS

Steps:

• Spray counter lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
• Flatten each roll into a 5-inch circle.
• Combine apples, pecans, brown sugar, spices and butter.
• Place about 2 tablespoons of apple mixture in the center of each dough circle.
• Carefully place a dough circle with apple mixture on it into each cup of a sprayed muffin pan.
• Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and let rise 30-45 minutes.
• Remove wrap and bake at 350°F 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from pan to cool slightly and frost.
• For frosting, combine cream cheese with butter.
• Add powdered sugar and mix well.
• Add salt to caramel sauce and stir.
• Add salted caramel sauce to the cream cheese mixture and stir well.
• Frost apple cups while warm.

SLOW COOKER CARAMEL APPLE BUTTER

Steps:

• Combine apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and cloves in a slow cooker.
• Cook on High until apples are tender enough to easily mash with a fork, 3 to 5 hours. Puree apple mixture with an immersion blender until smooth.
• Microwave unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe dish until melted, about 30 seconds. Add to slow cooker and cook for 1 to 2 hours.
• Inspect ten 8-ounce jars for cracks and rings for rust, discarding any defective ones. Immerse in simmering water for at least 5 minutes. Wash new, unused lids and rings in warm soapy water.
• Pack apple butter into the hot, sterilized jars, filling the jars to within 1/4 inch of the top. Run a knife or a thin spatula around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any residue. Top with lids, and screw on rings.
• Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil and lower jars 2 inches apart into the boiling water using a holder. Pour in more boiling water to cover jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a rolling boil, cover, and process for 10 minutes.
• Remove the jars from the stockpot and let rest, several inches apart, for 12 to 24 hours. Press the center of each lid with a finger to ensure the lid does not move up or down. Remove the rings for storage and store in a cool, dark area.

SALTED CARAMEL BUTTER COMPOUND

Steps:

• Combine the sugar and water in a small, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, brush down the sides of the pan with water and boil until caramelized, 5-6 minutes. The sugar will be fragrant and have a deep amber color when it is caramelized.
• Remove the pan from the heat, slowly stir in the cream until smooth and let cool to room temperature.
• Blend together the caramel, butter, salt and vanilla in a medium-size bowl.
• This butter may be formed into a log and refrigerate until firm before slicing and serving.
• How to Form into a Log: Transfer the flavored butter to a sheet of parchment paper, roll tightly into a 1 1/2-inch-thick log (a straight edge is helpful for forming an even log), and twist both ends of the parchment paper to seal. Slip the log into a paper towel tube if you want it to be perfectly round, and refrigerate until firm. To serve, cut slices of flavored butter with a warm knife (simply run hot water over the blade and then wipe it dry).

SALTED CARAMEL APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the pie crust: Whisk flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add butter and toss until butter pieces are completely separated and coated with flour mixture. Using your hands, work butter into flour mixture until well combined and butter pieces are no larger than a pea. Add 1/4 cup cold water and gently stir with a spatula until completely absorbed. Add remaining 1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon at a time, gently stirring between each addition, until dough begins to form into a ball. Depending on how humid it is in your kitchen or how hydrated your flour is, you might not need to use all of the water.
• Transfer dough to a clean work surface and gently knead, being careful not to overwork it, until smooth and slightly tacky. Divide dough evenly into 2 pieces. Form each piece into a flat disk and wrap individually in plastic wrap. Chill dough in a refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days. If chilled longer than 1 hour, let sit at room temperature at least 15 minutes before rolling.
• While the dough is chilling, prepare the caramel sauce. Heat sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is completely melted and amber in color, 10 to 15 minutes. Add butter to melted sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until butter is melted and completely combined, about 1 minute.
• Carefully add heavy cream to sugar mixture, stirring constantly, until bubbly, 15 to 30 seconds. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in sea salt. Set caramel sauce aside to cool slightly at room temperature until ready to use.
• Prepare the filling: stir apples, sugar, flour, lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg together in a large bowl until well combined. Set apple mixture aside at room temperature, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
• Pour apple mixture through a strainer into a large bowl. Set apple mixture aside, and transfer the liquid to a small saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Remove saucepan from heat and set aside at room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Position oven rack in bottom third of oven.
• Working with one dough disk at a time on a surface lightly dusted with flour, roll each disk into a 1/8-inch thick circle that measures 12 inches in diameter. Place one dough circle in a 9-inch pie pan and gently press dough into the corners and sides of the pan.
• Stir together apples and reduced apple liquid in large bowl; arrange apple mixture in the pie crust, and drizzle with 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce. Place remaining dough circle over apple mixture and press into apple mixture and into edges of pan. Using your fingers, fold edges under and crimp to seal. Brush top and edges of dough with egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Cut eight 1-inch slits in dough with a sharp paring knife to allow steam to escape. Place pie on a rimmed sheet pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is light golden in color, about 20 minutes. Without removing the pie, reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and continue baking until dough is deep golden brown and the filling is starting to bubble, about 25 minutes. Gently cover pie with aluminum foil, and continue baking until a knife inserted removes mostly clean, about 25 minutes.
• Remove pie from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 2 hours. Serve pie with remaining caramel sauce, if desired.