Halloween is just around the corner and I have a bucketful of recipes coming your way. Hooray! The first recipe is a classic: Caramel Apples. Tart apples covered with luscious caramel, flecked with bits of goodness. The bits of goodness are up to you, I went with M&Ms, pecans, chocolate chips, & Heath bars.
One tip, for the best result, use organic apples. Typically non-organic apples are coated with wax, which makes it more difficult to get the caramel to stick.
Caramel Apples Printer-Friendly Recipe
Ingredients
4-6 Apples (I used Granny Smith)
1 package of caramel squares (14 ounces)
Water
Toppings (Mini M&Ms, pecans, mini chocolate chips, Heath bars, etc.)
Wooden sticks
Directions
Wash & dry apples. Stick each with a wooden stick. To make the caramel sauce, melt the caramel squares with 1 tablespoon of water in a microwave-safe bowl, 1 minute at a time up to 3 minutes, stirring after each minute until the caramel is smooth & completely melted. Alternatively, you could melt the caramel with 2 tablespoons of water in a saucepan over medium heat on a stove top, stirring constantly.
Place parchment paper or wax paper on a tray. Prepare toppings for apples. Dip each apple in the melted caramel, allowing the excess to drip off. Place each apple on the parchment paper & allow to sit for 10 minutes at room temperature or for 5-10 minutes in the fridge. This step is so chocolate toppings do not melt from the hot caramel, just make sure the caramel doesn’t harden too much (you can skip this step if you want). Sprinkle on desired toppings. Place apples on parchment paper and store in the fridge. Before serving, allow to sit at room temperature about 10 minutes. Enjoy!
I didn’t buy organic apples (I realized the error of my ways later), so I tried to rub some of the wax off with hot water. It sort of worked, but still, organic apples are the way to go.
Apples washed & dried, sticks ready.
Push the sticks into the apples.
Melt caramel & 1 tablespoon of water in a microwave-safe bowl, 1 minute at a time up to 3 minutes, stirring in between each minute until smooth. You could also melt the caramel on the stove top (just use 2 tablespoons of water), stirring constantly until smooth & melted.
Apples, melted caramel, and extra bits of goodness are ready.
Dip each apple in caramel, shaking off excess. Place on parchment or wax paper. Once all of the apples are dipped, it’s best to place them in the fridge to harden for a little bit.
Once the caramel has set a bit (either at room temp for 10 minutes or in the fridge for 5-10 minutes), sprinkle on the bits of goodness. Put apples back in fridge to allow the caramel to harden. Remove from fridge 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
