Sure, you could make caramel apples the hard way: standing over a hot stove, closely watching a pot of boiling sugar as it transforms into molten liquid, keeping tabs on a candy thermometer as the mixture slowly caramelizes. Also, making sure to get it the exact right color — not too dark — before carefully pouring in heavy cream, lest you scald yourself with the steam from the bubbling pot. Done? Not quite.
It's time to heat that mixture once more, further caramelizing, before you can let it slightly cool, transfer it to a separate bowl, and dip some apples in it. As we've learned, . No special thermometers required, no particular expertise in the magic arts of candy making.
If this feels like cheating, consider the following: This is actually how the very first caramel apples were made, at least according to one oft-repeated legend — which tells of a Kraft Foods employee who, in the 1950s, was faced with an excess of caramel candies after Halloween, then decided to melt them into a dip for apples. So, really, you're not taking a shortcut here — you're just dipping into history. Here's how.
How to make delicious — and easy — caramel apples First, procure the ingredients: One regular-sized package of caramels, somewhere between 10 and 14 ounces, will coat four to six apples. You can use whatever apples you like — — though picking ones on the small side will make eating a bit more manageable. After unwrapping the candies, dump them into a small, microwave-safe .
