I like to use small or medium-size apples for my caramel apples.Use a fairly large pot to make these caramel apples as the sugary mixture will bubble up as it cooks especially when the cream is added.Got an hour? That's all it takes! You'll be sure to see lots of smiling faces and hear sighs of delight with each delicious bite.Ĭafé Tips for making these Easy Homemade Caramel Apples Need a fun hostess gift or party favor? How about a delicious make-ahead dessert? These Easy Homemade Caramel apples also are a wonderful way to say, 'Thanks', 'I care' or 'You're special' to friends, neighbors, teachers, postmen, etc. Yay! I love easy solutions to pain-in-the-neck problems! And I love to share them with you even more! I've made these delicious apples many times and never have had an issue with crystallization using these simple additions. To be super cautious, I actually add a small amount of both corn syrup and lemon juice in this caramel apple recipe. Somehow the sugar is confused with the addition of these ingredients and the crystallization problem is eliminated. The easiest one is to add a tablespoon of corn syrup or a splash of lemon juice to the sugar as it melts. Over the years, I've learned a few tricks that prevent the sugar from misbehaving and turning grainy and coarse. There are lots of variables such as the temperature of the heat source, stirring technique, utensils that aren't pristinely clean, sugar crystals on the sides on the pot, and on and on it goes. The crystallization problem occurs when sugar (sucrose) melts and (for a variety of complicated reasons) a chain reaction starts and the sugar re-forms into it's grainy, crystalline state. A crystalized, grainy, stuck-in-the-pan mess that was a pain to clean up! Why does sugar crystalize? It seemed that no matter which recipe I tried - when it came to melting the sugar, I would often end up with a crystallized, grainy mess in the pan instead of caramel. I get it! I spent many years frustrated with the process of trying to make real caramel. But my sugar always crystalizes when I try to make caramel! The real deal! Soft, buttery caramel that thickly coats each apple and sets to a nonsticky finish. Dip your apples and wipe the drool off your mouth as you wait 10 minutes for these beauties to set. Add cream, cook, and stir till a candy thermometer reaches 246˚F. How does it work? Easy! Just combine sugar and water and boil till the sugar caramelizes (less time than it takes to unwrap a bag of caramels). There's also vanilla and sea salt for flavoring, but the ingredient list is simple, short and the essence of real caramel flavor. This recipe is simply sugar (which is caramelized), cream and butter. Some recipes call for Kraft caramels, some for brown sugar, corn syrup, and condensed milk. The caramel apples were a huge success and didn't last long with that sweet-toothed crew! I've made them many times since and have tweaked the recipe (originally from Serious Eats), here and there to make it fail-proof and perfect for you!Īlthough there are numerous ways to make caramel apples, this is the REAL DEAL. How wonderful to have so many helpers! 6-year-old, Luke was responsible for measuring the ingredients, Annie (12) faithfully stirred the pot, Elle (11) took care of monitoring the temperature and Lilly (8) made the whole thing fun! The orchard stand also sold caramel apples but I had told my oldest granddaughter, Annie, that we would make our own caramel apples while they were visiting.Īnnie was quick to remind me of my promise the following day, and that afternoon, we all gathered in the kitchen to make caramel apples. The day they arrived we spent a beautiful fall afternoon at one of the nearby mountain apple orchards, picking apples, wandering through a corn maze and enjoying warm cider donuts. My daughter, Cait and her little herd of four visited us a few weekends ago. Then click on the recipe below for Easy Homemade Caramel Apples and start cooking! In less than an hour, you'll have a dozen of the prettiest, most delicious caramel apples you'll ever have the pleasure of meeting! If you haven't made caramel apples this fall, RUN to the store and pick up a bag of apples and a carton of cream. Make a dozen apples in less than an hour! These Easy Homemade Caramel Apples taste a hundred times better than anything you can buy. For more information, see our privacy policy.

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