Caramel apples-3 Ways-Which works best?

If you’ve never made caramel apples, you’re not alone.  I’ve always wanted to try caramel apples, but felt like they were too much work. So this weekend I tried 3 different methods to find which method worked best…and boy were the kids excited about this experiment!

OK, I’ve taken the classic, easiest, and somewhere in between methods and put them to the test. In researching how to make caramel apples, I’ve found out some pretty (ok seriously) useful tips to making sure these apples come out perfect.

Tips

• If your’re using whole apples, be sure to give them a good scrub. Rubbing any wax off the apples is KEY to making sure the caramel sticks.
• If you’re cutting your apples, you have to be sure that right before dipping the apples in the caramel, you really pat them dry (that goes for after washing the whole apples as well).
• Also, if you’re cutting them, you may want to steer clear of dipping the apples in chocolate. The liquid seizes up the chocolate and hardens it. I suggest pouring chocolate over your cut apples.
• If you choose to use the stick method, be sure that your caramel or chocolate gets on the stick too (of course, not ALL of the stick). This will help keep the apple sturdy on the stick.

Prepare your apples

I left the skin on all the apples, because of the need to have dry apples, and because I don’t ever remember seeing anyone peel the skin off an apple…

For the cut apples on a stick, I cut bigger pieces in order to avoid skinny apples falling off.

Melting the Caramel

Ingredients

14 oz. of caramel candies

2 Tbs. of milk or half & half

Directions

Add the two items in a glass bowl, or measuring cup and place in the microwave for 1 minute, stir, then microwave for another minute. Stir until the consistency is smooth.

I found a great little video on All Recipes.com. take a look, there’s also a few more really good tips here.

Melting the Chocolate

I simply empty the chocolates into a glass bowl. Once your ready to drizzle, microwave for 40 seconds at a time, stirring in between until the chocolate is melted.

Results

• I  found the kids had a hard time dipping the cut apples because the caramel was so thick and made it hard to pull the apples back out.
• The apple slices on a stick were ok, but the fact that they were still a bit wet (naturally) from the juices made it hard for the caramel to stick, even after patting them dry a few times.
• The whole apples on a stick were sturdy & substantial so they didn’t fall apart in any way. And they were definitely the cleanest to make. After they were dipped, the kids simply drizzled chocolate and sprinkled candies on them.

There you have it, caramel apples 3 ways. So which do I prefer? Well, I think laying the options all out on the table like I did for this experiment was 1. a mess 2. so so fun for the kids. And if a little clean up is the worst that can happen, then let them go at it. Let them giggle, pile on the candy, and make memories.

However, I have to tell you, I may only do this at the beginning of the season and maybe one other time. After that, I’ll do a more kid friendly “bar” version, and let them just dip the apples and eat them:

• Disposable containers filled with

1. caramel sauce
2. chocolate sauce
3. candy pieces

• Sliced apples

I think that surprise 4th method is the winner. What do you think?

Also, let us know if you have any other caramel melting & sticking tips to share.