A Perfect Fall Treat

Candied Apples!

So I recently made these for a friend's wedding. 200 apples dipped first in caramel, then chocolate, then decorated; it was quite the production! They came out beautifully and were fun to make (easier than I expected).

CARAMEL

Recipe for 8-10 medium size apples.

1 1/3 c evaporated milk

1/2 c light corn syrup

2 c sugar

1 Tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

Heat milk, syrup and sugar in heavy saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar. Boil, stirring constantly until thermometer reaches soft ball stage (240F for a firmer caramel, 238F for a softer one) or until a bit dropped in ice water forms a soft ball that flattens easily. Remove from heat. Stir in butter, then vanilla. Cool slightly, then dip apples (washed, dried, de-stemmed, and stuck with a wooden stick) to coat. Place saucepan over heat to thin as needed. Place apples on greased pan or wax paper.

Let the caramel set for at least a couple hours until no longer sticky or tacky.

For the chocolate coat, I recommend coating chocolate, or candy making chocolate (we got ours from Sam's Club: Ghiradelli has bars of 2.5 lbs awesome to use) because it has a higher cocoa butter content which makes it a breeze to use since it doesn't need tempering and sets with a great shiny shell.

Be prepared with all your decorations before the chocolate dipping, you gotta move fast before the chocolate sets!

Melt chocolate in a glass or steel bowl over a pot of barely simmering water (or a double boiler if you have one). Be careful to keep the temperature of the chocolate low. Be patient! Avoid heating the chocolate higher than 35C or 95F. Over heat and the chocolate won't set properly when "drying".

Dip the caramel coated apples in chocolate, drip off excess, then dip in nuts, sprinkles, toffee bits, whatever you want! Decorate with m&ms, white chocolate drizzle, anything you can think of.

Great project to do with kids, girlfriends, anyone who wants to have some fun!