I love caramel apples and always buy a couple (I can’t keep too many goodies in the house at one time due to a lack of self-control) when they go on sale for $1.00 each. It has been many years since I tried making them myself so I decided to try my hand at it again and see how much it cost. I bought my apples on sale for $1.00 per pound and all my candy at the Dollar Tree. If I had bought my bag of caramels on sale, it would have lowered my cost considerably but the bag I purchased was $2.50….my cost per apple ended up being 91 cents each. What I discovered, to be quite honest, is that the next time I want a caramel apple, I’ll buy one at the store. But, if we still had children in the house or I wanted to have them for a party, I would make them myself. I have stated before that I lack skills when it comes to desserts (as you’ll soon see), so if I can make these and they look so-so, you can probably make them, and they’ll look a lot better! (But they still tasted really good.) These would be fun to make with the kids and let them get creative with the toppings…..and a fun way to use up some of that leftover Halloween candy (which would lower the price even more.)
I decided to use M & M’s, almonds, crushed Butterfinger, crushed chocolate chip cookies and crushed dark chocolate fudge cookies.
I used the recipe on the back of the bag of Kraft Caramels I bought….here’s what I did and what I would do different* the next time I try my hand at making these.
CARAMEL DIPPED APPLES-
Prep: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings: 5
Ingredients:
- 5 medium apples, washed and well dried
- 1 package (14 oz) caramels (about 50)
- 2 tablespoons water
Directions:
Insert wooden pop sticks into stem end of each apple (I bought my sticks at Michael’s for $3.49 for a pack of 60). Cover large plate with wax paper; grease with butter. Set aside. *You want to make sure you use a plate big enough that the apples don’t rub against each other because otherwise, they stick together and when you try to pull them apart, the caramel will come off.
Place caramels and water in large saucepan; cook on medium-low heat until caramels are completely melted, stirring constantly. *Next time I will try the microwave directions because I literally thought my arm was going to fall of with all the stirring! But I do have rheumatoid arthritis and my elbows and wrists aren’t as strong as they once were so you might not have that challenge.
Dip apples into melted caramel until evenly coated, spooning caramel over apples if necessary. Allow excess caramel to drip off. Scrape bottoms of apples, then place on prepared plate. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve. Remove from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.
Microwave Directions:
Decrease water to 1 tablespoon. Microwave caramels and water in large microwavable bowl on hight 2-1/2 to 3 minutes or until caramels are completely melted, stirring after each minute.
Now if you’re going to use candy or nuts to decorate your apples….
Have all your coatings chopped and ready to use before you melt the caramels. The caramel hardens pretty quickly so you want to dip the apples and coat them one at a time. I found it easier to use my fingers and press the topping in.
I had leftover chocolate chips so I melted them (1 cup microwaved on high for about 1 minute) and using a spoon, drizzled the chocolate on some of the apples. White chocolate would look good too. *Here’s an example of my not so hot dessert making….I tried melting the chocolate and putting it in a squeeze bottle but it was too thick. Then I put the chocolate in a plastic bag, cut off a corner, and tried squeezing the chocolate out of that but it was way too hot for me to handle and by the time it cooled down, the chocolate was too hard. If you have tips on how to make this easier, I would really like to hear them.
(You know, I could fib and say this was so easy and I’m an expert on squeezing chocolate….but I’m not. But there are those of you who are, and by sharing your tips, you help all of us who might have challenges.)
I had leftover melted caramel but not enough to coat another apple so I thought, why not coat some apple slices and see how that works….
Well, as you can obviously see, it didn’t work out like I thought!……Not afraid to share my mistakes!
When I wrapped these I thought they would make great party favors or you could use them as place settings at the dinner table (for a family/friend gathering)….a fun way to let everyone know where they are sitting and they can take them home. You could also make these for baby showers and decorate them in the colors you’ve decorated with or a birthday party….