SUPPLIES
Skewers
Parchment or Wax Paper
Clear Treat Bags (for finished apples)
Ribbon or Bag Ties
INGREDIENTS
5 Granny Smith Apples*
1 - 11oz bag Kraft Caramel Bits
<2T Water
1 - 12oz bag Nestle White Chocolate Morsels
1c C&H Golden Brown Sugar
1/2t Cinnamon
*I have purchased apples from many different grocery stores. Finding big apples that don't have bruises or holes in them depends on the season and the individual store. You may have to search a few stores to find good apples, but it will be worth it! Small apples from stores that don't handle their produce carefully will not make good caramel apples.
DIRECTIONS
1. PREP APPLES
Wash apples with warm water and a fruit & vegetable wash. Dry completely. Stick skewers through the core of each apple. Do not push all the way through - only until the skewers feels stuck and the apple can be lifted by the skewer without falling off.
2. PREP SPACE
The apples will need a place to sit and harden once they've been dipped in caramel. Wax paper or parchment paper sprayed with a non stick spray works well.
3. MELT CARAMEL BITS
Place caramel bits in a pot. Add just less than 2T of water (a full 2T of water will make the caramel run off the apple).
Heat the caramel and water on med-low. When the caramel begins to melt, start stirring. Use a spatula to push the caramel bits against the bottom of the pot to melt the caramel faster.
The longer the caramel heats, the harder and darker the caramel will be in the end. Softer, lighter (and more delicious) caramel is achieved with a quicker melt. Once the caramel is melted, turn off the heat.
4. DIP APPLES IN CARAMEL
Raise one side of the pot up onto something small (parchment paper box pictured here) so that it will be easier to dip the apples into the caramel.
Firmly holding the skewer dip each apple, one at a time, into the caramel. Dip them at an angle, and roll until the apple is mostly covered. Or you can make the Green Orchard Sweets square by dipping at an angle, lifting the apple out, turning the apple 90° and dipping again. Repeat until each side is covered.
Once dipped, let a good amount of the caramel drip off the apple into the pot before setting the apple on the prepared space.
If the caramel doesn't drip off enough it will form a big puddle once it's set down. Using a spatula to gently scrape the bottom of the apple can help remove excess caramel.
Bubbles are going to form on the apples, and that's okay! Use a toothpick to pop and deflate the bubbles. You will still see the bubble spots, but they'll be covered up in the end.
The apples now need to sit so the caramel can harden. Hardening time will vary from home to home and season to season. I usually let them sit for about an hour. A cooler, drier home makes the caramel harden faster. Do not place them in the refrigerator to speed up the hardening process.
5. DIP APPLES IN CHOCOLATE
Once the caramel has hardened up a bit, use kitchen scissors (sprayed with non stick spray) to trim away any excess caramel that has puddled on the bottom. You can also snip off any big bubbles that weren't deflated earlier.
Prepare a new space for apples to sit again, but WITHOUT non stick spray this time. Put brown sugar on a plate or cookie sheet and pick out any hardened bits. Mix cinnamon in thoroughly and set aside.
Place white chocolate morsels into a microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave 20 seconds at a time, stirring and scraping the bowl with a spatula after every 20 seconds. Do not overheat! Once chocolate is almost completely melted, stir and press remaining morsels against the side of the bowl to finish melting.
Dip apples, one at a time, into the chocolate until most or all of the caramel is covered. You can use the same technique to dip in chocolate as you did to dip in caramel.
Gently shake to get excess chocolate off the apple. It is important to remove all excess chocolate as you cannot trim it off after like we did with the caramel. Use spatula to carefully scrape lower half and bottom of apple until there is just a thin layer of chocolate remaining.
Roll apple in brown sugar until the chocolate is covered almost all the way to the top. If excess chocolate was left on the apple, it may start to drip off here. Scoop it out of the sugar and roll the apple again.
Once finished, set the apple down in prepared space and let the chocolate set up. White chocolate hardens quite quickly.
Once they're firm to the touch, place them into individual bags, tie with ribbon or bag tie, and place them in the refrigerator. When apples are left at room temperature, they age quickly. When they are chilled, the aging process slows down drastically. I've had caramel apples last for over a month in the fridge.
