Caramel Chocolate Apples

As promised....here are the instructions to how I made my 

Caramel and Chocolate Apples.

Start with fresh apples that are uniform in size.

  

 I purchased my apples from a local orchard where they were picked early morning

the day I purchased them.  Since they came directly from the orchard, there was no shine on them like you find on grocery store bought apples.

If you use apples with a shine, the shine must be removed first before coating them with the caramel and or chocolate.  This can be done by washing/soaking them in a vinegar bath and rinsing well with cold water.  Dry the apples completely, you do not want any moisture or water droplets to get into your caramel or chocolate.

Insert sticks of your choice. I also lined my Jelly Roll pans with parchment paper and taped down the sides on the under side of the pans.

 Time to melt the Caramel.  I used Caramel Bits, which are unwrapped. I found mine at Walmart in the candy isle.  They were very hard to find, but worth the time it took to find them.  I purchased 10 bags for 60 apples and used 9 bags with very little left.

 I recommend you use a large measuring cup to melt the caramel.

Follow the instructions on the package for melting with the microwave.

As you can see above, the caramel melted very nicely. And using the measuring cup,

the heat remained in the glass to keep the caramel at the right consistency for coating.

I took a spoon and scrapped off a good portion of the caramel from the bottom of the apple before placing on the pan.  The caramel will still pool a bit at the bottom but not as much if you scrap off the bottoms. 

After the caramel set for about 30 mins. I then melted my chocolate in another measuring cup in the microwave.  If you want to tint a white chocolate as I did,  you use an oil base food coloring.  Do not use the food coloring  you would use in cake batter.  Add the color after the chocolate has melted and mix well.

I used a plastic bottle to apply the chocolate on top of the apples. 

Here is a picture of the plastic bottle and funnel I filled with the chocolate

After I added the chocolate to a few apples, I placed chocolate morsels or peanuts on top of the chocolate.  If your working with Peanuts, I suggest you package those without peanuts first so no peanut dust or pieces get onto them.  So many people have sever peanut allergies....

I then did a thin drizzle with the chocolate from the plastic bottle.

Let them set for about two hours.  Do Not Put them in the refrigerator. 

The apples will sweat and have moisture on them.  That is not a good thing!

Gently pull them from the parchment paper and place them in a sturdy wrapper.

I found these on Amazon.

Here is the completed process wrapped and sealed.

The bags are 5X11. 

I made labels with a message from the Bride and Groom.  I placed the labels on the bags before I placed the apples inside. 

You can add a bow or any other decoration you wish along with the closure.

We opted to not add any additional closure.

Here is a picture of the Bride's very good friend and Significant.  They came early to the reception as we were setting out the Apples and this is what I saw when I turned around...Too funny!

 

The Apples were a huge hit...!  Guests were eating them at the reception to which I had many raves and compliments...!

I also was contacted from the Groom's Mother asking me if I could do an order for a personal friend of hers.  Unfortunately, I had to decline due to time constraints.

Next Time...

If your unsure of the instructions, please feel free to contact me...

K