About ten years ago, I got this hair-brained idea that I would make deluxe caramel apples for the kids in our neighborhood. I had an abundance of large Mac (well, large for Macs) & thought it would be a fun thing to do.

I 'think' I got the caramel slabs from KA. They were expensive. Then, I bought lots of chocolate, nuts, raisins, etc. I poured the melted caramel into a thick-walled flower vase so I could dip the apples easier. That part worked great. I chilled the apples for about 5 minutes & dipped a second time. After the second dip, I rolled the apples in the various goodies. They came out great, cost me a lot of money, & I got caramel all over the kitchen so I never did it again. Sigh.

If you buy the apples be sure they are not waxed. If they are you'll need to scrub all of the wax off or the caramel will slip off.

Now, when DH & I want a caramel apple treat we order these from QVC. They're no more expensive that doing at home using a double caramel dip & lots of goodies...well, maybe, a bit more expensive but these are so good I don't care. We do not share them with the neighbor kids though. :(

Good Luck!

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: Mrs. Prindable's Caramel Apples

Do you think dusting the apples lightly with cornstarch will help? I've always had a problem of cooking the apples in the process (albeit they were candy apples) so I am going to try the Jonathons. I will try the cornstarch thing and let you know how it goes as I am hoping to try it this weekend. Like I said I am doing candy apple and not caramel but I remember it sliding off just like the caramel. Good luck, 60 sounds crazy.

I'm with you, Grainlady...do you still have that button? I generally feel the same way; however, after the week that we have had down here in Houston, I'm feeling rather charitable and I really don't mind going all out for the teachers which is why I volunteer for Teacher Appreciation and stay away from all the other....stuff ;)

I think all the apples I have access to are waxed. I assume that hot water is best for removing it. Can I drop them in a hot (boiling?) water bath for easier removal?

The homemade caramel seems like a cheaper route and I won't have to unwrap caramels all night, but is it 'tricky' as far as temp? Will I be able to cook it to the right temp and then keep it warm long enough for 60 apples without ruining the consistency? And what is the purpose of dipping in powder sugar, to keep it from sticking to the paper cups?

Tricia, is it necessary to double dip them? I know it's more decadent; however, will one dip suffice?

Am I totally over thinking this?

Caramel apple wraps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Easier.

dreamgarden,

I've only made them the one time & I was attempting to follow the description of how Mrs. Prindable's makes theirs (I watched them on QVC). They double dip! The apples I made turned out huge because of all the caramel & toppings. Too large to just eat an entire apple...they needed to be cut, sliced, & one apple made 2-3 servings. Very, very yummy but, like I said, expensive, a lot of work, & made a huge mess.

I'm sure a single dip will be enough. They just won't hold as many toppings & that's almost undoubtedly OK.

I do recommend using a narrow & deep container to hold the melted caramel & work very fast because the cold apples set up the caramel quickly.

I seriously doubt you'll do this little exercise again but it will leave you with 'fond' memories, I'm sure! :)

/tricia

DH1, There are no orchards in Texas? No farmers market that trucks them in from somewhere? I guess living in WA State, I assume everyone should have some kind of "real" apple available..LOL
I wish I could send you a box right quick from the back yard....
I have one tree that has the smallest apples..no matter how much I thin them down in the spring they don't grow big. LOL

Okay aside from that...I use squares of parchment. That way I can put the apple into cello bags pretty easy.
I prefer to use room temp apples...go figure. And I only store them in the fridge if I need to keep them longer than a few days.
We sell them at the U Pick farm I work at..they are done by Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory.
We sell the plain, plain with peanuts, and the specialty dips. They all are shelf "stable". And sit around for a week in the "non" heated stand, no oozing or problems.
They make their own caramel.

I'm gonig to try it this year with Ann T's caramel recipe, just not cook it as long.

I like them with Gala's too. I also love the sweet TART of using a granny smith.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

Oops, sorry about the name mistake dreamhouse!

/tricia

Dreamhouse, I hope this helps

Here is a link that might be useful: caramel apples

Or this one...it is a two parter, you'll need to click on part two in order to watch how she puts them all together.

Here is a link that might be useful: how to make caramel apples

I use to make them often for DD when she was little as an after school snack for her and her friends. I used Kraft caramels and never had problems with the caramel sliding off. It was nice and thick!

The caramel apple wraps are yucky!! I've tried them.

Too bad the caramel wraps are yucky. I have never used them or made a caramel apple. They sound like such a good idea. My sis says the Kraft caramels and directions work great.

Frankly you can hold the apple and the stick and just give me a turtle candy and I'll be happy!

Here is a link that might be useful:

I've been watching this post and hoping for a recipe that would be similar to the Mrs. Prindable's. I have yet to find one where the caramel is that consistency. Williams-Sonoma offers a humungous caramel & chocolate covered apple around the holidays that is also good.

The Kraft ones are stickier than Mrs. P's, and I agree that those apple wraps, while easy, are not that good. Kids would like them just because they're sweet, but for adults I think the Kraft route is superior.

Good luck!

Well, let the experiments begin!! I can't resist trying a homemade caramel, so I will start there first.

Terri, is there a place to find Ann T's recipe? The one on the video from Deborah also looked good, although very dark - could be the molasses or just the video. As for farmers' apples, well, here in Texas right now we are lucky to see fruits or veggies of any kind. Just now getting dairy products back. The produce is awful looking. I know that by Halloween the problem will be solved (right???!!), but for testing purposes, it's from the local supermarket.

Stand by for results....

My family will be sick of caramel apples by Halloween!

Wonder if you could make your own caramel wraps? Those are so easy to use, but, yes, icky. Could you just pour out the caramel on a silpat and then strip it off to place on the apple? That's still way easier than all the dipping and cleaning of the deep dipping container.

I know a candy store owner who says she buys bulk caramel from Judy's Candy Company in Berkeley, CA. This is the best caramel ever. Here is their phone number: 1-800-223-1642

Here is a link that might be useful: Judy's Candy

Uh.....why not make fudge?
Due to years of agreeing to do things like make 150 nut cups out of special paper, cut out and folded just so....and of moulding butter into tiny little hearts, decorated with a sprig of dill and makine 300 napkin rings out of toilet paopter tubes with fabric glued on and decorated with ribbons buttons flowers and rick rack....I have learned to say things like...
"Why don't we just make fudge? Or why don't we just buy the nut cups?"
Said with just the right degree of bright eyed enthusiasm, people will surely agree!
Linda C.....who used to take a tray of fresh hot from the oven cinnamon rolls, arranged to look like a Christmas tree, decorated with halves of candied cherries, to all the neighbors and friends on Christmas eve!

This is a great caramel recipe. To make a sauce or sticky coating I cook to different temperatures.
I've made it for years.

Here is a link that might be useful: caramel

Here's another recipe using condensed milk from Recipezaar.

Here is a link that might be useful: caramel apples

Thanks, Khandi. Think I will try your recipe first as I just returned from the store and all they had were the wraps! No caramels at all, got apples though! Dang, Ike! I have all the ingredients mentioned in your recipe, so that's where I will start by experiments.

Linda, you are right. If this proves to be too much work and hassle, I will go to plan B...don't know what plan B is yet, but I'm sure when I'm elbow deep in caramel and my feet are sticking to the floor, something will come to me! Like fudge, pumpkin bread, molasses cookies, pecan tarts.....yeah, you're right...

Sorry to post and run DH1~ busy days of late..

Here is the recipe copied straight from Ann's Dessert book.

I think this would make a FAB apple coating! But below it is the caramel recipe. I think I might try dipping the baby apples in Maple Cream Fudge. ~I have made both recipes using cream NOT Sweetened Condensed Milk.

Maple Cream Fudge
option: Replace the cream and cup of white sugar with one can of sweetened condensed milk and up the maple syrup to 1 cup
=================
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup cream
1/3 cup of butter
1/4 cup of maple syrup
pinch of salt
vanilla (I use 1 full teaspoon.)
. Add the two sugars, butter and cream maple syrup and salt into a saucepan. Place over medium heat. Stir while bringing to a boil. Lower the heat and continue to stir slowly while the mixture cooks. After about 7 minutes, test by pouring a small amount into some cold water. You want it to form a soft ball. You might need to cook it for another
minute or two. Remove from the heat, add a couple of teaspoons of vanilla and start stirring. It takes about 14 or 15 minutes for the fudge to cool and thicken. Pour into buttered dish.

To make Carmels instead of fudge,
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup white
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1 cup butter
1 cup cream
pinch of salt
vanilla (I used 1 FULL teaspoon)
Cook to almost hard ball stage.
Let cool slightly, stir and then pour into butter pan or mini muffin tins.

Here is her caramel sauce recipe...

GOSH I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!!!!

Caramel Sauce
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup cream
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla

To make caramel sauce,
bring butter, sugars, cream and salt to a boil and then simmer for 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla.

Well, I tried the recipe from Recipezaar. It made some great tasting caramel, however, it got way too hard for caramel apples. When I tried to cut the apple into wedges, the caramel just cracked off and seperated from the apple. After coming to room temp, it is a little more pliable, but not much, still doesn't stick to the apple, just your teeth! I don't think I cooked it too long, that is the only thing I can imagine I could have done wrong - I read and reread the recipe - thank goodness I halved it.

It was really tricky, I think Linda is right, this undertaking is not worth the pay-off.

I'm going to try the caramel candies tomorrow. Werther's had a recipe that looked worth trying.

Experiment #2.....

I make caramel apples every year. We use the smallest apples from the u-pick orchards and use a small crockpot (the appetizer size) on low to hold the caramel at the perfect temp. I've used the 5 pound bricks and I've also made my own and poured it into the crockpot. 60 is a lot though. You'd have to keep refreshing that small crockpot.

At school last year, one mom brought the caramel in a large crockpot, cut up apples and toppings which were served buffet style in the teacher's lounge. They've been requested many times over since :) and it was easy!