Written By: Leslie Means
Caramel apples are a little like pecan pie, German chocolate cake, Butterfingers dessert and twist crunch ice cream cones.
All of the above items are only eaten during appropriate seasons. Pecan pie falls into Thanksgiving (and the Webster County Fair), German chocolate cake is my birthday cake of choice, Butterfingers dessert is almost always served at Easter and you can’t eat a twist crunch ice cream cone unless it’s one of the hottest days of the year.
These are all obvious rules, clearly.
The go-to fall item I can’t live without?
Of course! Caramel apples are sticky, full of calories, and bad for your teeth.
But who cares? It’s almost Halloween and that means it’s time to sink those teeth (while you still have them) into a caramel apple. Chances are you’ll only have this treat once a year, so why not indulge?
Apparently there are just about a million ways to make your caramel apple. Any kind of topping will do and there are numerous instructions on the web to help you make the caramel as well. I chose a simple recipe for mine (one I remembered as a young girl) as I wanted my girls to help. They unwrapped the caramels and colored their own Popsicle sticks. They also picked out each of their toppings.
It was a sticky mess that we all enjoyed. We’re also still snacking on these bad boys as the apples we used were WAY to big for a 4 and 2 year old. At any rate, they enjoyed sinking their pint size vampire teeth into this sweet delight.
You will need:
1 bag of caramels
4-6 apples (more if small apples)
2 tablespoons milk
Popsicle sticks (or I used a tree branch for mine)
How to make your caramel apple:
Unwrap candy
Place candy in saucepan on medium heat. Stir. Add milk and heat until smooth.
Place sticks into the middle of each apple (where the stem is located).
Cover baking sheet with parchment paper (this is so your apples won’t stick!) Have this pan and your toppings of choice nearby for the dipping process.
Dip each apple into the caramel mixture. Let excess caramel drip off apple. Next, dip in toppings of choice. (I chose peanuts and coconut for mine). Let dry for about 30 minutes.
Enjoy!
I also wanted to share 4 more ways to eat a caramel apple! Here’s some of my favorites floating around the web:
I totally used Martha’s idea this year. Put a stick in the middle of your apple! She also has a fairly long recipe, but it looks tasty.
I love how simple this one is. Just a cute stick and colored ribbon can add so much. I found this one over at Eat At Allies. Plus, I love how she was brave enough to cover the entire apple. I couldn’t do that for fear my girls would be sugar high crazy!
Um, NOW I see this! How cute! This is a mini version of a caramel apple, perfect for small hands and teeth. They used a melon baller to scoop out individually sized servings. What a clever idea!
And last but not least, I give you an organic caramel apple from Deliciously Organic. I personally don’t care whether it’s organic or not, I just love the dainty look of these guys. I’m sure it’s just as tasty as well!