Caramel Apples

To celebrate the arrival of autumn the girls and I decided to try our hand at making caramel apples on a stick.  Usually these treats are reserved for the specials days we head to the pumpkin patch and tackle a corn maze, but this year we wanted to make sure we had enough to go around.

Heading out this morning to pick up groceries before the expected afternoon downpour of rain arrived, I looked at three places for the popsicle sticks needed for this recipe.  The only ones I could find were colored, so I hope there is nothing toxic in the paint used to color the sticks.  By the way, I didn't think of this until too late, check the apples you buy to see if they will sit flat, otherwise you'll have some interesting results.

Ingredients:

8 - 10 medium tart apples  ( I purchased golden delicious and granny smith)

1 cup butter

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Also needed: 8 - 10 wooden sticks.

Step one:  Remove the stickers and wash the apples.

Step two:  Fill a bowl with HOT water.

Three:  Dunk each apple  for about 30 seconds to remove the corn wax so the caramel adheres better.

Here are the caramel ingredients, all ready to go.

Place all the ingredients (except the vanilla and apples) in a heavy 3 quart saucepan.

 Stir to combine.  Bring to boil over medium-high heat.

Cook and stir until the mixture reaches 248 degrees, which is firm-ball stage in candy-making talk, using a candy thermometer.  Once the mixture reaches the desired temperature, remove it from heat and stir in vanilla.  Sorry for the blurry picture, apparently I cannot stir and take a picture at the same time.

If desired, have toppings ready to go.  I used chopped peanuts, but other options are: crushed candy bars, crushed cookies, sprinkles, marshmallows.....  or all of the above.  Get creative!

Insert  the wooden sticks through the stem side of apple about halfway through.

Dip the apple in the hot caramel mixture, turn to coat and use a spoon to cover the spots on top.

Let the excess caramel drip off....

                          

.....roll in desired topping of choice.....

 ....and set on waxed paper to cool.

Once cool, you can really go to town and drizzle on melted chocolate and/or white chocolate and sprinkle with more toppings.

If there is any caramel mixture left in the pan, remove it while it is still soft, otherwise you will spend your evening scrubbing it out.  The left over candy is delicious and can be rolled into caramel candy balls. 

 Be sure you don't have any loose teeth, crowns or fillings before enjoying this :-)

Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home