Coffee Break with Liz and Kate » Headline, Let's Eat » Kate’s Escapades – How to Make Gourmet Caramel Apples

Kate’s Escapades – How to Make Gourmet Caramel Apples

October 24th, 2012 | 3 Comments

Chocolate Drizzle Apple - with white chocolate and milk chocolate drizzles

One of my family’s favorite fall treats is caramel apples. We used to make regular old plain caramel apples and love them, until one vacation to Disneyland many years ago. We discovered Marceline’s Confectionery candy shop just outside the Disneyland gates. We had gone to Downtown Disney the night before our adventure into the actual Disneyland park to get a taste of the Disneyland magic and build our excitement for the next morning’s trip into the park itself. We got some delicious caramel apples from Marceline’s (they slice them and put them in a little boutique looking bag) and sat outside soaking up the sounds and sights and smells of Disneyland in Downtown Disney. Not that we needed to build the excitement. Do you remember the “Too excited to sleep” Disney commercial, well that could be my family, as none of us can sleep the night before going to Disneyland.

We’ve made this night-before-caramel-apple-stop a tradition of our every other year Disneyland vacation. So now my family calls these gourmet caramel apples…Disneyland Apples, and now that we’ve figured out how to make them, we can bring a little of the Disney magic into our house any old time of the year.

Here’s how we make our…

GOURMET CARAMEL APPLES

INGREDIENTS

8 large Granny Smith or Fuji apples
wooden craft sticks
2 (14 ounce) packages caramels, unwrapped
2 tablespoons milk
milk chocolate chips
white chocolate chips
candy for coating

DIRECTIONS

Dip apples into boiling water briefly, to remove any wax that may be on the apple. Wipe dry, and set aside. Insert sticks into the apples through the cores. (Don’t skip this step as caramel may not stick to apple if there is wax on it.)
Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and coat with cooking spray. Place the unwrapped caramels into a microwave-safe medium bowl along with 4 tablespoons of milk. Cook on high for 2 minutes, then stir and continue cooking and stirring at 1 minute intervals until caramel is melted and smooth. OR cook in a saucepan on the stove on a medium heat, stirring constantly until the caramels are completely melted.

Hold apples by the stick, and dip into the caramel to coat. Set on waxed paper; refrigerate for about 15 minutes to set.

Heat the chocolate with 1 tablespoon of shortening in a microwave-safe bowl until melted and smooth. Dip apples into the chocolate to cover the layer of caramel. (We prefer to only coat half of the apple in the chocolate.) Or you can drizzle the chocolate instead of dipping, if you prefer.

Add whatever candy toppings you prefer to chocolate layer before it sets.
Put apples back on waxed paper to set, then enjoy. We cut them into slices and put them on a plate so we can share the different varieties.

Here are some of our favorite combinations…