Step by Step Caramel Apples

Perhaps the only thing I like about Dan having overnights at work is that usually means a sleepover for Manda and I. Last month was no exception, and since it was in the midst of my apple encounters, we decided to try our hand at homemade caramel apples. All of the recipes I saw were insanely simple - mix a couple tablespoons of milk in a bowl of caramels, melt it in the microwave, and dip. I think I knew better than to expect that this would NOT be a huge mess, but overall the project was a little more frustrating than I would have thought. Either way, the end product was delicious.

Here's a step by step in pictures of mine and Manda's Caramel Apples.

1. Get out all of your supplies - a large bowl, Kraft caramels, wax paper, popsicle sticks, and apples of your choice (we used red delicious).

2. Have your helper unwrap all of the caramels and put them in the bowl with a couple splashes of milk.

3. Wash and dry the apples, remove stems, and insert a popsicle stick into each on the stem side (so they will stand upright).

4. Melt caramels in microwave for 2-3 minutes, stirring once. Meanwhile, line a cookie sheet with the wax paper.

5. Let caramel cool a bit, then dip apples one at a time, rotating slowly so all sides are covered. You can use a spoon to drizzle some caramel over the top of the apple (where the stick is).

6. Immediately roll in toppings of choice, if desired. We used crushed cashews and graham cracker crumbs.

7. Refrigerate until caramel dries.

A couple things we learned while making caramel apples:
1. Letting the caramel cool is an important step. We dipped the first couple of apples before the caramel cooled, and it slid right off and made a huge mess.
2. Patience is key. On her last apple, Manda stood outside on the back deck where it was cool and slowly turned the apple so the caramel didn't drip off before drying. We didn't take this level of care with the others, and it showed with how messy they ended up.


YUM!