Candy-Coated Caramel Apples

Oct 31, 2012

I love apples in the fall.  The stores carry an abundance of colors and varieties from the local orchards. Annual cider-making begins at my brother-in-law’s house.  And then, there are caramel apples.  Sweet and gooey on the outside.  Juicy and delicious on the inside.  A yummy fall treat to celebrate the season.
Today, we’re making candy-coated caramel apples.  So grab the kids, your favorite candies, lollipop sticks, some caramels and apples, and we’ll spend some time together.  

 

1.  Unwrap your caramel candies.  Definitely a good reason to involve the kids!  This was the most pain-staking work in the whole process.  For reference, we made 10 caramel apples and used 4 cups of caramel candies.  Judging from the bag, do you think I over-bought?  Um, Yes.
2.  Crush the candy.  Put any candies you would like to crush in a resealable bag.  Hand a mallet to your children and let them have fun.  The candies we chose were Nerds, Reeces Pieces, M&M’s, Butterfinger, Oreos and Candy Corn.

3.  Heat up your caramel, adding milk or water.  *We did not do this.  The caramel rolled and held the candy really well, but it was a “tough gooey” when you ate it.  Strong teeth required!  I simply microwaved the caramel by itself until it was a good consistency for dipping the apples.
My sister-in-law (an amazing baker) has added a tablespoon or two of water to the caramel.  This recipe shows using milk.  Either way, most recipes I saw called for two tablespoons of liquid with a 14oz bag of caramels.
 
4.  Put your apple on a craft stick or lollipop stick and dip in the caramel.  Use a spoon to help get a good thick coating on the apple.   

 

5.  Roll the apples in the candy.

 

(Optional) 6.  My sister-in-law has a little trick for making the apples extra delectable.  She dips the apple in caramel, drizzles with chocolate and then rolls it in candy.  Then she drizzles more chocolate or melted peanut butter morsels over the top.  Not only does it help secure the candy, it makes a beautiful presentation.
7.  Wrap them up and be sure to give some away to bless a friend, neighbor or co-worker.
What candy would make your caramel apple the best?  Have fun!

 

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