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Wow…that is the first word that comes to mind when I describe these delicious caramel apples. Earlier this week I did a post on a healthier caramel corn that is made with GMO free corn and is made without corn syrup, refined sugars or unhealthy fats. Sound interesting? Head on over HERE to check out this great recipe!
When I was making this homemade caramel for the caramel corn, I immediately knew that I was going to tackle caramel apples next. I mean why not carry the caramel theme all week long right? 
So for this recipe, I wanted to create more of a candy/caramel apple. In order to create a delicious caramel apple, it takes a little time on the stove to reach the desired temperature (255°F-260°F) to create a delicious, rich caramel. It is not hard to make caramel apples, it only takes about 30 minutes…but it takes some patience and you can’t rush making caramel or it will burn.
There are a couple of key things I want to note about this recipe. I am not sure how substitutions would work for this recipe. The heavy cream could be substituted out for half and half and maybe even coconut milk (however I have not tried that yet), but the sweeteners are kind of important to create a great caramel. Organic Sucanat Brown Sugar is the sweetener I choose because it has a terrific caramel flavor already and it is the most natural, unrefined brown sugar option. I am not sure that stevia or even coconut sugar would work for this. I have a hard time getting coconut sugar to dissolve (even in hot water), so for me I didn’t even try that. Now typically I encourage everyone to use Raw Honey, but there is no need for it in this recipe, just use regular honey. You will be boiling this mixture for 20 minutes and raw honey certainly wouldn’t be raw after heating it for that long.
Another thing to note is that once the caramel is ready, work fast. It cools quickly and will thicken making it a little more difficult to work with. Don’t worry about a perfect looking caramel apple. If you notice on mine, I have caramel everywhere. It is ok, that is what makes them so irresistible! Enjoy this treat and let me know if you should have any questions in the comment section below the recipe!
Ingredients
- 6-8 small apples
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup sucanat
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 tsp unrefined sea salt
- nuts of choice (optional)
- popsicle sticks or lollipop sticks for apples
- muffin liners to set your caramel apples in
Instructions
- Refrigerate your apples for several hours. Having very cold apples will help your caramel stick to the apples.
- In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat up cream to just before it starts to boil (when the bubbles just start to form on the edge of the pan).
- Add honey, sucanat and salt and stir to dissolve and bring to a boil stirring continuously.
- Stirring continuously, allow to boil for about 20 minutes (about 255 F-260 F). You must continuously stir or your caramel will burn. Do not stop stirring the entire time!
- Once the temperature has reached 260 F, carefully put the pan into a ice water bath (ice water in a large bowl) being very careful not to get any water into the caramel and pan. This stops the caramel from cooking any longer.
- Leave in the ice water bath and stir until it thickens slightly (about 10-15 seconds).
- Remove apples from refrigerator.
- Place sticks into apples and dip your first apple into the caramel coating the apple as quickly as possible.
- Put the caramel apples into the muffin liners and allow them to set.
- Work fast, the caramel can thicken up quickly. If it does, put it back onto the burner for about 10-15 seconds to thin it out a bit.
- Do remaining apples and enjoy! Apples are best eaten right away!
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