Caramel Apples from Scratch
First of all- Happy Halloween! On days like today I wish I were a kid again, as I truly believe that as much fun as adults can have to get into costume (I surely do,) nothing was quite the same as being a kid on Halloween. I sure did love getting all dressed up with my Sisters and Trick or Treating. I mean, what did kinda suck was that out little Wisconsin suburb didn’t allow night Trick or Treating, so it happened at 2 pm on the closest Sunday. Do they still do that? In New York I don’t get any cute Trick or Treaters which is sad. That is definitely incentive to move into a real house someday. :)
If you have never made Caramel Apples from scratch this is the recipe for you. The dipping caramel is the same that I used for the Sea Salt Caramels I posted on Friday. So not only is it the perfect consistency for an amazing caramel apple, but if you only want to make a few, add some sea salt, pour it into a pan and there you go. Double Whammy!
The trick to getting the caramel to stick to the apples perfectly is to sand them down a bit before dipping. I used some fine grade sand paper, roughened the bottom part of the apple up, and then washed it off. I have to say it worked really well and the caramel stuck perfectly! Caramel Apples are something I always think of around Halloween- probably because I loved getting the inspired lollypops in my Trick or Treat bag more than anything else! So enjoy and have a wonderful day whether you are celebrating or not.
I went to a very fun Film Noir themed party on Saturday with my Sisters, Andy and some Friends. Here are a few pics from the occasion: I think I was meant to live during that time! :) Anyone else have any fabulous costumes happening today? (For you OR your kids.)
Caramel Apples from Scratch
Ingredients
- 2 C brown sugar
- 1 C corn syrup
- 1/2 C butter
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Combine the first 3 ingredients. After butter is melted stir in the milk.
- Attach a candy thermometer and cook to soft ball stage. (230/240degrees). Stir constantly.
- Stir in 1 tsp vanilla.
- Remove from heat.
- Dip apples into the caramel.
- Set apples on a cookie sheet.
- Place in refrigerator if needed. Enjoy!
Notes
I was able to dip 12 small size macintosh apples and had enough caramel left over to fill an 8 x 8 greased pan to make candies.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Adapted from: YourHomeBasedMom
I *adore* caramel apples, I definitely need to try this out! Somehow I’d imagined it to be a much more complicated process.
These sure are pretty!
Great party pictures, sounds like fun and a cool theme.
The caramel apples look tasty and the sanding tip is definitely helpful. The simplicity of this recipe as well as the great pictures does inspire. Happy halloween!
Yum! Is there anyone who doesn’t like caramel apples?? These look delicious. Love the photos also! :-)
What I love most is your apples are small! Perfect size in my opinion. I always love the look of the giant ones, but then you get done with the caramel so fast :( Really, no trick or treating where you were from. We could go on the 31st in the Madison area.
Simple and delicious. The only caramel apples I’ve ever made involved a solid caramel layer that was packaged and sold by grocery stores. You know, the one that you melt in the microwave and put on top of your apple. Your recipe looks amazing. Can’t wait to try this.
Yay apple season!
Great photos! I’m with Erin, I like how these aren’t gigantic!
I wish I could take a bite of one of those apples–they look so delicious! And I have to say, I always love your photos…the lighting is spot on! :)
The mini caramel apples are so cute!!! I love caramel apples too. What a fun party- Halloween is totally my favorite but due to Football and friends with babies we didnt really get a chance to celebrate. Your pics are awesome!
These sound so freaking yummy!!
I tried to made it before but my caramel didn’t stick to my apples :'( Have any tips or trick for that problem?
@kitchenaholics- the tip I gave about sanding the apple down really helped! I would give that a try!
How ’bout them apples. Lovely. And cute Halloween pics! Looks like fun.
I didn’t feel like finding sandpaper, so I just used the abrasive side of my dish scrubbie! Since the caramel stayed on, I’d say it worked! Just tried this recipe yesterday, made four apples and a 9×10(?) pan of Sea Salt Caramels.. got the caramels all wrapped up to gift to coworkers and mail to family, that is, if I don’t eat them all first!
These look delish—-Do you think dipping and/or decorating in chocolate would be ok?!
Delicious! I used the sandpaper trick, and it worked. I had a LOT left over, and it is cooling in a parchment-lined 8*8.
As an aside, it would be great if you could include the vanilla in the list of ingredients.