On Saturday, I had this bright idea for a lunch I was going to the next day. I had to bring a dessert and I was trying to find one that would be fun, festive and not too time consuming. I decided on caramel apples- probably because they seemed so easy and kind of gorgeous. Nevermind the fact that I didn't want to use the bagged/wrapped/premade caramel or that I had never even eaten one before and had no clue what consistency I needed the caramel to be at- I was excited, and when that happens with a recipe almost nothing can get in my way.
I scoured the internet looking for a caramel recipe that doesn't use corn syrup. That took about 30 minutes on it's own. Geez. I settled on an Ina Garten caramel sauce recipe. I started to make it, then frantically thought- is caramel sauce the same stuff you dip apples into?? If my google toolbar could speak, it would seriously laugh at all the silly food related questions I type in. I'm still learning! Give me a break, google toolbar! These apples were a labor of love. They took a good long time. I learned a lot- and I think anyone can make them, seriously. Just live and learn from my mistakes.
You start by choosing your weapon- sugar. I used raw sugar, as it is still October Unprocessed and all that. I love the look of those gargantuan sugar crystals. Glory glory!
The next part was my favorite, it was easy and relatively hard to mess up (in my opinion..). You mix the sugar and the water on low and let it dissolve. Because I used a different type of sugar, this process took longer than the recipe suggested. About 1/3 longer, but I was patient at this point.
As the sugar was dissolving, I decided to really get my act together and mix my cream and vanilla and have it waiting in the wings. I love mixing any milk with vanilla for a recipe- it smells so lovely and homey.
After the sugar dissolved, crank up the heat and step away. Let it boil, but resist the urge to stir. You can slowly wiggle the pot around, swirling the bubbling sugar around, but do not stir. (Why? I googled it, but got distracted, I'm thinking that I might make two batches next time- one where I stir the heck out of it and one where I just swirl..).
While that bubbled, I washed up my apples in very hot water and scrubbed them with a dish towel. I imagine they enjoyed that.
After the caramel reaches about 350 degrees, or it has a warm chestnut but dark color to it (expect it to be darker than normal if you used raw sugar), add the cream/vanilla mixture. The caramel will harden and you will freak out that you have failed miserably- but this is normal. It should do this. Relax. Simmer it on low heat until it comes together.
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| Odd looking, but totally normal, hardened caramel waiting to be mixed with the cream. It will soon look like.. |
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| this! But this is too light for a caramel apple.. |
This is where my 'learning' happened. I did this too soon. I made sauce and it never hardened. I had to reheat my caramel, bring it to boiling and watch this bubbling all over again. Here's what I feel like I learned- look at the bubbles on the edge of the pot. Watch how they burst against your pan, I wanted them to be thick and ooey gooey, and once my bubbles were leaving thicker patterns of burst bubbles, I turned off the heat. If you want caramel sauce, then relax at a warm chestnut color- if you want to dip or make harder caramels, wait a bit and look at those bubbles.
If you want sauce- here is the color you are looking for! Gorgeous! It was very, very good caramel sauce. If I wanted caramel sauce, I would have been thrilled. But I was not. And, having never eaten a caramel apple before I still dipped the darn apples into this sauce! I thought it seemed legit! I was wrong. The caramel never stuck- it stayed on but would wipe off on my finger. I was SO frustrated. We had to leave for a bit, so I was stuck pondering my disaster for hours. When we came home, I decided that I need to get some of the moisture to evaporate by heating it up more (after googling 'what to do when...' without any luck). I boiled it and waited anxiously for those ooey gooey bubbles.
It worked! I dipped my only remaining apples, these little guys, and set them in the fridge overnight. There's a chance I was up until midnight trying to figure this thing out. The next morning, I melted some dark chocolate and drizzled away. Wait for them to get to room temperature before enjoying, but don't let them get too warm! They get a bit ooey gooey then.
As my first caramel apple experience, these were startlingly good. I really enjoyed them! No wonder people dip apples in this stuff, it's fantastic combination. The chewy caramel is so satisfying set against the juicy apple. Divine!
Caramel Apples
adapted from Ina Garten
ingredients
1 1/2 cups raw sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
dark chocolate for drizzling
Wash your apples in hot water and scrub with a dish towel. Shove a stick in each of them- I used lollipop sticks- so they are ready to go. Place some wax paper on a dish and spray with cooking spray to keep the caramel from sticking later on.
Mix the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and turn the heat on low. Cook until the sugar has dissolved. Get the cream and vanilla ready.
Turn the heat up to medium and boil, no stirring, until it turns a dark chestnut color. Swirl the pan around to mix. Watch it very carefully, as it can burn quickly. You are aiming for 350 degrees on a candy thermometer. Turn off the heat when you get the consistency and color you desire, then stand back and pour in the milk and vanilla. It will bubble like crazy and the caramel will harden but fear not, simmer it on low heat until it comes together, about 2 minutes.
Let it cool slightly, just a minute or so, and begin dipping your apples and placing them on the prepared wax paper.
If you want to drizzle with chocolate, melt some in a glass bowl in the microwave. Pour it into a small ziploc bag and snip off the end of the bag. Drizzle away! I placed the apple on an upside cup to hold them steady.
Enjoy!
-m
