First Cider from pressed apples, some questions

I got the bright idea to press some local apples and make some hard cider. I went ahead and did this before I started reading up on it and now I am not sure what to do.

Had 4 gallons of freshly pressed cider, added 5 campton tablets to that and let it sit for 24 hours. Then I pitched Nottingham yeast into the cider and let it do its magic. My OG was 1.052 and now it is sitting at 1.000, and doesn't taste that good, VERY bitter. I have racked it into a glass carboy and it is now fairly clear.

I have thought about trying to make something like the Caramel Apple Cider that was posted by Upstate Mike. Can I just continue on with his step 2, back sweeten and bottle?

What are some of my options at this point?

Thanks in advance.

Yep, Go right ahead!

definitely backsweeten! makes a huge difference, especially if you go for some nice apple juice to backsweeten (or caramel syrup! tho i'd always add a bit of apple juice for some extra apple character).

have a crack at stove top pasteuriseing for a tasty sparkling cider, its so worth it!

Funny thing. I've traveled the midwest this fall looking for the perfect cider. Why? Shhhh....Secret BUT, I do think that your expectations exceed the consumer tastes. For example, I've had over 30 commercial ciders. People love them. I hate them. The market is there for people to drink really crappy cider. I made a gallon of experimental cider for Thanksgiving. I rated it a total failure. My college aged nieces and nephews LOVED it. Go figure. My tastes are very specific. I found one cider I think is in a class of its own. If I could come close to that I'd die a happy man. So far, I'm getting the bitter, sour, not very apple-ly somewhat alcohol at a high level, cloudy, not fizzy, jug o' crap that tastes alot like the commercial brands. I'd say doctor the daylights out of it until it tastes like you want it. At least you didn't make it from concentrate shipped in from China.

If I had a nice, tart, dry batch of hard cider to play with i think I'd brew a nice spicy, gummy batch of 8% saison and blend the two to taste, then bottle/keg and hope for the best. It could be fun

Make sure that you have some sort of CO2 on that secondary. 1.000 is very low. Likely fermentation may have been finished. Oxidation is a big possibility for your batch right now. If you have no visible activity in your airlock, I would sprinkle some sort of fermentable sugar in there. Just enough to get a bubble or ten. That will give you a nice protective blanket. Or if you keg, give a little shot of CO2 in the carboy.