Caramel Apples
Last weekend, we cooked out on the campfire, and I made homemade caramel apples to fit the fall theme. I really liked them.
Of course if you weren’t feeling quite as ambitious as I was, you could buy caramel candies, add them along with a couple tablespoons of milk to a pan to melt them down and coat the apples that way. But nooooo, I had to make homemade caramel. And I liked it. It isn’t as hard as you think.
Homemade Caramel Apples
8-10 medium apples (try Granny Smith or Golden Delicious – any firm, tart apple will do)
craft sticks or wooden skewers
1 C. butter
2 C. brown sugar
1 C. corn syrup (light or dark will work)
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 1/2 t. vanilla
Wash and dry the apples. Remove stems, and insert sticks/skewers. (You may want to put them in the freezer for a few minutes while you prepare the caramel…this helps it stick later). Prepare a well-greased surface (I used a cookie sheet) for the apples. In a saucepan, combine butter, sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk. Stir until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, and cook until at firm ball stage (or between 245 and 250 degrees using a candy thermometer). Note: you shouldn’t stir much during this time or it can cause the caramel to get grainy. If you don’t stir at all, however the stuff at the bottom of the pan may burn and you end up with little dark specs of extra-dark caramel in your mixture. Not that this happened to me.
Once the caramel reaches the correct temperature, remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Let the mixture cool for about five minutes. Take the apples and coat thoroughly in caramel. If you want to roll in chocolate chips, nuts, sprinkles do so immediately, then place apples on greased surface to cool. Serve the same day. Enjoy!
My little Betty Crocker is all grown up. I’m so proud of you Kelli. You can add some confectioner’s sugar to the mixture and have carmel icing for a cake. Yum!!!:)