Caramel Apples

To get into the Fall spirit (as if I really needed any help!), I decided to make caramel apples this weekend with the kids. These turned out so good and the possibilities of things to decorate them with are really endless. If you can think it up and crunch it, you can stick it on a caramel apple.

I did mine two ways. Either dipped in caramel and chocolate or the chocolate is drizzled on. I also used some black and orange sprinkles. My kids are crazy for sprinkles so I tend to have a lot around for whatever holiday we are currently near.

The process is simple, but I have a couple tricks that I think will help to make your caramel apple making better. First of all, you have to get the wax off of the apples. You can do this one of two ways. You can dip the apple into boiling water for a few seconds or you can scrub the living daylights out of it with a kitchen scrubby. Either way will get the wax off. It the wax stays on the apple, the caramel has a tendency to want to slide off of the apple.

My second trick for you is to dry the apples really, really well and put the sticks in. Then, place them on a cookie sheet in the fridge for no less than 30 minutes. This makes the apples really cold and the hot caramel will set up a lot faster. This also helps to keep the caramel stay on the apple and not end in a puddle around it.

Ok, so you have your apples, and they are on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Next, you want to put a glass bowl over some simmering water and put your caramels (unwrapped of course) into the bowl with a little bit of water. One (14 oz) bag of caramels calls for 2 Tablespoons of water. Let them gently melt until the mixture is hot and all melted. Then, time for trick number 3. Add one more tablespoon of water, this will thin the caramel even more and make dipping easy.

Here is what it should look like.

Now you get to dippin'.

Cover the apples with the caramel. If you tip the bowl to one side, if makes the puddle deeper and easier to get better coverage. Use a spoon of you need to and get that apple covered up. You can also use a spoon to scrape off some of the caramel if it seems to thick.

Get all of the apples dipped and put on the wax paper lined cookie sheet. Place them back into the fridge while you melt the chocolate.

This is an entire package of almond bark, chopped up and put in a bowl over simmering water. What you don't use on your apples you can use to make chocolate covered pretzels.

Using the same dipping technique, you can cover the whole apple, or you can drizzle it on.

While the chocolate is still wet, you can sprinkle on nuts, crushed candies, sprinkles or whatever else you want to put on there.

These are super fun to make and give as gifts. Wrap them up in cello bags and tie on a ribbon and they would make a really good trick-or-treat goodie for special kids in your life.

Any way you make these they will end up delicious. This was fun to do with my girls and it made a good special treat for them.

Try your hand at making these today, I think you'll be amazed at how great they turn out.

A couple of quick notes: You can get almond bark in the baking isle or the product called candy quik will work as well.

For 10 apples, I used 2 )14 oz) bag of caramels and 5 Tablespoons of water. If this seems kind of thick to you still, you can add water a little at a time until you think it is thin enough to dip the way you would like to.
Lastly, when dipping the apples in either chocolate or caramel, do a spinning motion over the bowl before you place them on a cookie sheet. This will help some of the excess come off. That means your apple won't be sitting in a puddle of goo and that is a good thing.