Thursday, October 30

Caramel Nut Apples

5 wooden popsicle sticks

5 medium apples, washed and dried well

1 14 oz. package caramels

2 T. water

1 c. chopped peanuts, pecans or walnuts (optional)

Prepare a cookie sheet: cover it with a piece of waxed paper, and butter the paper. Insert a popsicle stick into stem end of each apple. Set aside. If you're dipping the apples in nuts, put the nuts on a piece of waxed or parchment paper.

Put the caramels and the water into a large saucepan and set it over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly (this stuff burns!), until completely melted and smooth.

Dip apples into melted caramel, spooning caramel over the top of each apple to coat completely. Allow excess caramel to drip off (you can scrape it off with a spoon, if you need to). If you are using nuts, now's the time to either dip the bottom or roll the sides of each apple in the nuts.

As you finish each apple, place it on your prepared cookie sheet. Once all the apples are done, stick the whole thing into the refrigerator. They should be set in about 15 minutes.

You can serve the apples immediately, or you can wrap each apple individually in waxed paper (securing the paper around the stick with a rubber band or ribbon), and store in the fridge for up to a week.