Caramel Apples

Yield: 6 apples
Time: Some

Ingredients:

• 6 large granny smith apples
• cake pop sticks
• 3 c. sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 c. heavy cream
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• chocolate chips
• milk
• dark
• white
• stuff to roll the apples in
• Oreos
• Biscoff cookies
• nuts
• sprinkles
• M&M's 
• candy bars

Instructions:

1. Before you can dip your caramel apples you need to get the wax off of the peel. If you buy organic apples without the wax you can skip this step, otherwise you need to remove the wax either by briefly boiling the apples or by sanding the peel. I usually just cook the wax off. To do that, bring a large pot of water to a boil. While you are waiting, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and have your sticks ready. Take each apple and place it in the pot for thirty seconds to melt the wax. Immediately remove the apple and wash it off with a damp cloth. Take off the apple stems and then stab each apple with a stick where the stem used to be. Place the apples on your prepared baking tray and chill for at least twenty minutes.
2. To make the caramel, stir together the sugar, salt, and water in a bowl. Add this mixture to a large metal pot and make sure not to stir the sugar once it's in the pot to prevent it from crystallizing. Set the temperature to medium and wait for it to caramelize. When I was doing this I had to move the pot around on the burner to make sure that the sugar caramelized evenly. Leave the sugar on the stove until it reaches ~350℉ as measured by a candy thermometer. The sugar should go the color of a copper penny. If the sugar burns toss it out and try again (it'll smell like burnt hair.)
3. As soon as the sugar hits 350℉ pour in the heavy cream while stirring rapidly with a wooden spoon. The caramel will bubble up so you might need to use oven mitts while you're doing this. Once the sugar and cream combine, pour in the vanilla and continue cooking the caramel until it reaches 240℉. Take the caramel off the heat and allow it to cool for a few minutes before you dip the apples.
4. Take the tray of apples out of the fridge and dip each one in the caramel. You can cover as much of the apple in caramel as you like but I like to leave a little bit of the peel showing at the top of the apple. Cool the apples in the fridge for around five minutes before dipping in chocolate. If you are not dipping your apples in chocolate, do not cool the apples and immediately roll them in your other ingredients.
5. Melt the chocolate and prepare the ingredients that you are rolling the apples in. Dip each apple in chocolate and then sprinkle or roll each apple with your chosen additions. Cool, cut, and eat.