Fall is a challenging time for those with food allergies and sensitivities, and even more so with fragrance sensitivity! Today, we're making low-salicylate beverages: Caramel Pear Cider (based on the popular Caramel Apple Cider/Spice) and my favorite fall beverage, a Pear Hot Toddy. These drinks contain dairy, but you could leave out the whipped cream and caramel and just heat up pear juice with some maple (for kids) or serve with whisky or gin for adults. They are gluten-free too!


The Maple Caramel recipe I tried is from https://bromabakery.com/salted-maple-caramel-recipe - although I made a version for our site.

  • 1/2 c. real maple syrup
  • 1/2 c. white granulated sugar
  • 4 Tbsp. salted butter
  • 1/4 c. heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp. salt

Normal whipped cream usually gets a vanilla syrup with heavy cream, or vanilla and a simple syrup. I like to use maple syrup as the sweetener and flavor.

  • 1 Tbsp. real maple syrup
  • 1 cup (8oz.) heavy whipping cream

For the Caramel Pear Cider

  • 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp maple syrup on bottom
  • hot pear juice (8-12oz), feel free to dilute a little bit, cold is ok too
  • top with whipped cream and caramel sauce

Hot Toddy
I normally don't make this with whipped cream and caramel sauce, but since I had it out for the other drinks - it was on. This is a fun drink for hosting and warming up when being outside on chilly days.

  • 1 oz. gin (I use Beefeaters or Tanqueray)
  • 5-8 oz pear juice
  • Top with whipped cream and caramel sauce

About Pear Juice

I highly encourage you make your own pear juice - check out this video on how I make mine. That way you can peel your own and you know it's low-salicylate. It's possible that you can make some from canned pears made in a sugar syrup (light or heavy syrup) from the store. You can also just buy a few pears and make a little at a time. I do not juice mine, as to concentrate it down, but puree them and then dilute it a little. One serving of my juice should still equal approximately one pear.