Apples dipped in rich homemade caramel and then rolled in chopped peanuts. You can use whatever you wish to roll these in after they are dipped...chocolate chips, M&M's, chopped candy bars, etc. You can even drizzle them in chocolate after rolling to make them even more gourmet. Not as hard as one might imagine and no umwrapping of dozens of caramels!
What you'll need:
8-10 small to medium apples (I used Gala's)
8-10 skewers, chopsticks or popsicle sticks
1 cup butter (do not use margarine)
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
chopped peanuts or topping of your choice
waxed paper or parchment paper
candy thermometer
Thoroughly wash your apples. Remove the stems and insert a stick into the center of each. Dip the apples in near boiling water for 5-10 seconds and then immediately dry them to remove any wax. This may slightly discolor the apples but that's okay. Lay out a piece of waxed paper or parchment paper and thoroughly grease it with butter. Get your topping ready so you can roll the apples immediately after dipping.
In a large heavy bottomed sauce pan, stir together butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk. Stir constantly over medium-high heat until butter is melted and insert your candy thermometer. Turn heat down to medium and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until the caramel reaches 245*F on a candy thermometer.
When caramel is done, remove from heat, continuing to stir. Let cool for 1-2 minutes and add vanilla. Immediately dip apples and let excess caramel drip off. Roll into the toppings of your choice and set onto buttered wax or parchment paper. Continue with the remaining apples. If your caramel becomes too thick to dip the apples, warm slightly while stirring constantly over medium heat until you can continue dipping more apples. Let cool for 3-4 hours and enjoy!!
If you have any remaining caramel, pour onto a surface sprayed with nonstick spray to cool for some awesome caramel candies!