Caramel Apples
This recipe produces a softer caramel that adheres and holds it shape without being tacky, but is still quite easy to bite into an chew without fear of tooth damage!
Ingredients
- 10 – 12 Apples
- 1/2 C Butter
- 2 C Brown Sugar Packed
- 1 C Light Corn Syrup
- 1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk 14 oz
- Dash of Salt
- Dowels or Skewers for the Apples
- Toppings of your choice we suggest toffee bits, peanuts, mini m&ms, dried coconut, sprinkles etc.
Instructions
- In a pot, melt butter; add the brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, about 10-12 minutes.
- Stir in sweetened condensed milk.
- Cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 235° – 240° (Between Soft Ball and Firm Ball Stage). Remove from the heat or set to low and stir often to keep from burning.
- Insert Popsicle sticks into apples. Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture; turn to coat. Dip bottom of apples into bowl filled with your topping of choice. Place on greased waxed or silpat paper until set.
Notes
*TIPS*
– After fully coating Apple with caramel, use the handle of a spoon to scrape the bottom of the apple clean by placing the bottom of the apple against the handle and turning the apple. You will feel like you are taking a lot of caramel off. This is appropriate as the caramel will have some relief area to drip down to from the side. This prevents the caramel from pooling at the bottom and taking all your toppings with it. – This recipe can be prepared in multiples as needed. The final product does expand with heat, so be sure to select a large enough pot that cold ingredients fill no more than about 60% of the space. – The caramel can be cooled and reheated as needed with a caveat. If reheating large amounts of caramel, you will likely burn it before the whole mass comes up to temperature where you can stir it. Take this into account for large batches. If you let a large pot of this stuff cool down, you likely will not be able to heat it up without burning the bottom. Smaller batches could be heated in double boiler type setup without burning. – If taking this to an outing or a cookout, prepare it at home in the morning. When complete, turn off the heat so it doesn’t burn. Return every 20 minutes or so before it’s cooled substantially and reapply heat and stir. The caramel will retain enough heat in the pot to stay workable for about 20-30 minutes depending on your batch size. Plenty of time to travel with it to a destination and put on a camp stove or in a crock pot.
– After fully coating Apple with caramel, use the handle of a spoon to scrape the bottom of the apple clean by placing the bottom of the apple against the handle and turning the apple. You will feel like you are taking a lot of caramel off. This is appropriate as the caramel will have some relief area to drip down to from the side. This prevents the caramel from pooling at the bottom and taking all your toppings with it. – This recipe can be prepared in multiples as needed. The final product does expand with heat, so be sure to select a large enough pot that cold ingredients fill no more than about 60% of the space. – The caramel can be cooled and reheated as needed with a caveat. If reheating large amounts of caramel, you will likely burn it before the whole mass comes up to temperature where you can stir it. Take this into account for large batches. If you let a large pot of this stuff cool down, you likely will not be able to heat it up without burning the bottom. Smaller batches could be heated in double boiler type setup without burning. – If taking this to an outing or a cookout, prepare it at home in the morning. When complete, turn off the heat so it doesn’t burn. Return every 20 minutes or so before it’s cooled substantially and reapply heat and stir. The caramel will retain enough heat in the pot to stay workable for about 20-30 minutes depending on your batch size. Plenty of time to travel with it to a destination and put on a camp stove or in a crock pot.
