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- Step
One: Select Your Apples: - Choose
smaller apples - they'll be easier to make, easier
to eat, and will give you a better caramel to apple ratio! - Recommended apples include:
- Fuji:
Yellow-green skin, firm, sweet - Golden
Delicious: golden skin, firm, sweet - Granny
Smith: green skin, very firm, tart - McIntosh:
Reddish-green skin, firm, sweetly tart
apples are usually coated with wax, which makes it more difficult to coat
them.
remove the wax coating, quickly dip them in boiling water and then wipe
away the wax coating.
Two: Chill the Apples
the apples in the refrigerator until you're ready to start cooking.
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Step Three: Gather Your Equipment
o
General Supplies
- Wooden
skewers or Popsicle sticks - You
can also buy bamboo skewers and cut them in half. - Pot
for melting caramel (and additional pot/s for any other melted topping/s
you might wish to use) - Wax
paper covered tray or baking sheet (for completed apples) - wax
paper: you'll need this. You do
not want to put your finished apples directly on an oiled baking sheet,
tray, or serving platter. - Wooden
spoon - Whisk/s
for melted topping/s - Extra
bowls, if adding additional toppings - Another
pot or bowl for melting chocolate, if adding it to apples.
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Step Four: Prepare Your Workspace
- Before
you start working with caramel, make sure you have everything ready and
near at hand. If you scramble to get something while the caramel's on the
stove, you risk burning it. - Butter
your baking sheet or tray (or wax paper) so it's ready to hold coated
apples. - Set
out dishes with any additional toppings you plan to put on the apples
after they're caramel-coated. Common possible toppings include: - Nuts
- Toffee
bits - Chocolate
- Crushed
cookies or graham crackers (crushed cookies at the base of your apple
can form a stand, so it won't topple over)
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Step Five: Get The Apples Ready
- Check
for firmness and bruising before using. - Remove
the stems from good apples. - Wash
and dry your apples. - Insert
the wooden skewers or Popsicle sticks.
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Step Six: Melting Caramel Candies
- Unwrap
the candies from a 14 oz bag. - Melt
them, over a low heat, while stirring in two tablespoons of milk, water,
or cream. - When
the caramels have melted into a smooth liquid, they're ready to use.
·
Step Seven: Coat Your Apples
- Now
that your caramel is ready, it's time to coat your apples!
Dip the apples in the liquid caramel.- Tilt
the pot and spoon caramel over the apples as necessary for full coating.
- Work
quickly, before the caramel cools and solidifies. - If
caramel gets too solid to work with, whip in a tablespoon of cream over
low heat until it's workable once more. - If
using additional toppings, dip each apple in them right after it's been
coated. - Place
apples on the waiting tray or sheet. - When
all your apples are coated, place them in the refrigerator to cool.
Eight: Wrap Your Apples
you're selling individual apples or giving the apples as gifts, you can place
them in wax paper circles (once they've cooled) and tie off with ribbons.
Additional Flavors for Your Apples
- If
you want to give your caramel apples an extra kick, here are a few ideas: - Flavor
your caramel for an interesting twist on your caramel apple. - Vanilla
extract goes perfectly with caramel; double your vanilla for more
vanilla taste. - Add
maple extract for a fall-like flavor. - If
you're melting caramel candies, melt chocolate caramels instead of
regular ones!
o
Re-create a popular flavor combination:
- Turtle
Caramel Apples: Add a layer of crushed pecans and
then a layer of chocolate - S'Mores
Apples: Add a layer of tiny marshmallows, then a
layer of chocolate, and finish with a layer of crushed graham crackers - Chocolate
Caramel Apples: You can always dip your apples in a
second layer or drizzle your apples with milk chocolate, dark chocolate,
white chocolate or any combination of the three. - Then,
if you wish, add a third layer of crushed nuts or candies. - You'll
want to use the highest quality chocolate you can afford.