Carmel Apple Party

My sister Colleen got married on Friday.  I can’t believe how fast the day came and went. She was such a beautiful bride, and I know she and her husband will have a happy life together.

As a fun fall favor for guests to take home after the reception, my mom, sisters and I made 150 homemade caramel apples a few days before the wedding.  It was so nice to have a few hours together amid all the pre-wedding craziness. I feel really lucky to have so many lovely women in my life.

After dipping the apples in hot caramel we coated them with a variety of fun toppings: M&Ms, peanuts, sprinkles, crumbled Snickers bars and crushed pretzels (my favorite!).

Once the toppings had set, we tucked the caramel apples into cellophane bags and tied with pretty ribbon. The finished product sure was worth all the effort.

To coat so many apples, my mom had to make several batches of sticky caramel (all while several curious grandchildren circled her feet!).  It was a lot of work for her, and I imagine making just one batch – as the below recipe outlines – would be much easier and significantly less messy!

Caramel (from food.com)

1 cup butter (no substitutes)

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

8 -10 wooden sticks

8 -10 medium tart apples

Directions:

Insert 1 wooden stick into each apple.

In a heavy saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and milk; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm ball stage) about 30-40 minutes and for a softer caramel cook just to a few less degrees. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture; turn to coat.  Holding by the stick, sprinkle with nuts or whatever you desire while the caramel is still warm (work quickly the caramel sets up fast).

Set on generously buttered wax paper to cool (make certain to generously butter the paper).

Note: if making a double recipe make two recipes in two separate pots.

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2 Comments for this entry

  1. Sheila Cruz says:

    I absolutely LOVE these recipes and the accompanying stories and pictures! I feel like I can just jump right in the blog!

  2. Rebecca says:

    All those toppings sound yummy…my favorite is crushed reese’s pieces. I wish it was fall so I could eat one now!

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