11.17.2010

Homemade Caramel Apples



image via

I almost forgot to share these amazing caramel apples that Mike and I made a few weeks ago. They were sweet and tart and oh so decadent. We used a recipe from Food Network for the caramel, and we were pleasantly surprised how easy it was to make it (we were also surprised by the amount of sugar and heavy cream involved). But what the hell, it's the beginning of the holiday season so time to get to those decadent sweets.

We chose granny smith apples because they provide a tartness that went well with the sweetness of the caramel.



Here's the caramel starting to come together. We had to use a candy thermometer to ensure the right consistency.



We had some chopsticks lying around that we used for the sticks. They worked well because they were tapered. The following few images of apple dipping were all Mike. In high school he worked at Hot Dog on a Stick and this apple dipping required that same skill and technique.













After all the apples were coated, we put them on a silicone mat, to keep them from sticking (I imagine wax paper might work equally well), then popped them in the fridge for a few hours and they were set and ready to eat.



P.S. We had a little bit of leftover caramel so we added some chopped walnuts and made little candies. These were crazy delicious and we plan on making homemade turtles for Christmas.