Tutorial Tuesday: Homemade Caramel Apples

This past Sunday hubby & I hosted the leadership meeting for our church. Thankfully it was a cool fall day so a giant pot of chili with cornbread and salad was a perfect meal to feed 20 people cheap and heartily. I made homemade caramel apples for everyone to enjoy for dessert.

Want to make your own caramel apples? Just follow these simple steps:

I used a mix of Jonamac & Macintosh apples because they were the most affordable to buy in bulk. If I wasn’t making 26 apples, I would have used Granny Smith because I like the contrast between sweet caramel and sour apple much better.

I used thin sticks I found in the kid craft area of my local craft store. Place the stick in the BOTTOM of the apple to help it sit better once covered in caramel. Chilling the apples until you’re ready to use them helps the hot caramel stick better.

…and unwrap…and unwrap…and unwrap. I used three bags of Brach’s Milk Maid caramels. Two bags would have probably been more than enough. Place your unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Resist eating any. Oh, alright, go ahead and enjoy one. You have to make sure it’s good caramel after all.

For each bag of caramels, add 1 Tablespoon vanilla and 1 Tablespoon of water. Microwave, stirring after 90 second intervals, until caramel is melted.

[Unfortunately my camera battery died so I couldn’t get a picture of Step 5]

Dip the chilled apples in the hot caramel. Swirl the apple to let the excess caramel drip back into the bowl. Set dipped apple on a lightly greased sheet (with Pam spray) of waxed paper. Repeat. Reheat caramel as necessary. If desired, dip apples a second time once they have set.

[I found more batteries!]

Once your apples are covered to your liking and the caramel has cooled, place each apple on an upside down cupcake liner (I found these in the $1 section at Michael’s) and tie a ribbon around the stick. Chill until ready to serve.

Check out the other great tutorials posted today over at Hope Studios Tutorial Tuesday.