Care for a Wormy Apple...? (Caramel Apples)

Treats don't last long around our house and, you can tell, just look at us. Heck, we don't believe in snackrificing good taste especially around the holidays. Just check out these caramel apples. I couldn't even get them off the silpat before we were slicing into them.

And they are soooo fun to make. Of course you can create your own caramel by melting sugar and butter on the stove until it turns to caramel. I do this when I'm making caramel corn but . . . it's a lot of work and your timing has to be pretty perfect for it to turn out "just right". I tend to like my caramel a little well done - my kids prefer it "under done" in my opinion. So I usually make a couple batches: one for all of them and one for, yep, you guessed it: me.

Anyway, there's a very easy way to make caramel - just buy a couple bags of the candy squares, add about a half cup of water and melt it in the microwave in a skinny bowl - that makes the apple dipping so much easier - and less waste. I'm always about saving money. Then set your apples out on a silpat or wax paper to set. Then put them in the refrigerator for fifteen minutes to stiffen. Take the apples out of the refrigerator - let sit for five minutes (if you can) and then munch on those crispy critters. You can see we add a few of our own critters to treats. I always like having a wormy apple to crunch on. :)