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Lori's Aunt Ramona used to make and sell caramel apples at the state fair in Idaho. This is her secret recipe. The recipe she paid cold, hard cash for and never shared with anyone...until one day she decided to give it to Lori, who guarded the recipe with her life - right up until the day she had it printed in the family cookbook! Now, since her entire family has the recipe, she thought it was safe to share once again...and you know me, a recipe isn't a recipe unless it's shared...so friends, make a note of this one because this is the best tasting caramel on the planet...so much better than the stuff you can buy in a big brick!
Any good crisp apple will work - we used Jonagolds and Honey Crisp apples. Add whatever toppings you like on paper plates - we went with toffee bits, chopped pecans, orange sprinkles and chocolate sprinkles.
Lori is a butter snob. I learned that the day we made these apples...we went to the grocery store to gather supplies and I reached for the Lucerne BUTTER and she said, "No, no, no, no!" She then pointed out the Lucerne butter has 8 grams of fat while the Tillamook Butter has 9. I pointed out the Lucerne Butter was $2.49 a pound and the Tillamook Butter was $3.49 a pound. She said the extra dollar would be worth it. So we bought one pound of each kind...took them back to her house and I taste-tested each of them...both tasted like butter...and if my life depended on it I would not have been able to tell you which one had that extra gram of fat...but...I say nothing. The secret family recipe calls for half and half and canned milk; her Aunt specified SEGO canned milk but they don't make that brand any more. By the way, that's pronounced SEE-GO, not SEG-O. Just thought you'd like to know. And speaking of pronunciations...Caramel is pronounced CAR-MEL...not CARE-A-MEL...just because Tyler Florence and all the other TV chefs say CARE-A-MEL doesn't mean WE have to...and if you CARE-MELIZE something you're really CAR-MELIZING it...got it? Okay, back to the matter at hand...pour sugar on a cookie sheet, covering the entire bottom of the sheet - this will be where you set the caramel apples to dry.
See how dark the color becomes? That doesn't happen quickly - it takes about an hour and a half so put on your comfy shoes, you'll be standing and stirring a long time. Lori is demonstrating her dip, twist and twirl manuever that she learned while working in her aunt's booth at the state fair...twirling the apples helps the extra caramel drip off back into the pot. Next comes the fun part - rolling those hot, sticky apples into the toppings...
Aunt Ramona's Caramel Apples - Adapted From Aunt Ramona and Lori Johnson
20 apples, washed and dried
20 wooden skewers
4 cups sugar
1 3/4 cup evaporated canned milk (one can has 14 oz., not quite enough so buy two)
3 sticks butter, either the one with 8 grams of fat or the one with 9 grams, your choice, but DO NOT use margarine!
1 cup light Karo syrup
3 cups half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups mini-marshmallows (about 1/4 of a 10 oz. package)
In a large pot (as the caramel will rise when heated), combine sugar, canned milk, butter, Karo syrup and half and half. Heat slowly over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring constantly and wiping down the sides of the pan with a spatula. Continue to cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a full, rolling boil. You'll be tempted to turn the temperature down to keep the mixture from boiling over, do so, but just a bit - try to keep the temperature constant, instead of turning it up and then down over and over. Cook and stir until the caramel thickens and changes color from a pale cream to a dark, rich, golden caramel color - this takes about 1 1/2 hours - do not rush it, grasshopper, it will happen. Do a test to make sure the caramel is done by seeing if it will stick to an apple - dip an apple in the caramel and if the caramel does not slide off then it's done. It should be on the soft side, too.
Remove caramel from heat and add the vanilla and the mini-marshmallows, stir until incorporated. Dip apples in the caramel making sure to cover the entire apple. Swirl to remove excess caramel and place on sugar covered cookie sheet immediately. If using toppings, roll the apple in them before putting on the sugar to set. Once set, the apples can be placed in cupcake liners that have been opened up. They will keep for about 3 days on the counter, do not refrigerate. (Just so you know, the apple coated with toffee bits was incredible, the one with pecans was out of this world, but the plain caramel apples were still my favorite. Several of the apples ended up with bubbles on them, neither Lori or I knew why this happened, do any of you?? Bubbly or not, they were amazing!)Makes 20 apples.
"Age is just a number. It's totally irrelevant unless, of course, you happen to be a bottle of wine." ~ Joan Collins
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One year ago today: Roasted Acorn Squash With Maple Syrup and Currants
Two years ago today: The Virgin Mary Door
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