TOFFEE-DIPPED CARAMEL APPLES (so easy and gluten-free*!)
Ingredients:
- 6-8 medium apples
- 6-8 craft or popsicle sticks
- 1 14 ounce package of caramel candies, unwrapped *Kraft caramels are packaged as GF
- 2 tablespoon water
- 1/2 lb Vern's Toffee Toppings, finely crushed
- (optional) melted baking chips for drizzling *Hershey's baking chips are labelled as GF
- (optional) canola oil
Directions:
This is so easy, a 10-year-old can--and did--do it! Wash apples and thoroughly dry them. Remove apple stems and then insert the craft/popsicle sticks where the stems had been. Refrigerate apples while preparing caramel. Line a baking pan or platter with waxed paper to set your caramel apples on when done.
Unwrap your caramel candies, place them in a microwave-safe bowl and add 2 Tbsp. of water. Microwave on High until caramels have just melted (about 3 minutes), being sure to stop heating at 1-minute increments to stir the mixture and check its consistency. Once all the candies have melted remove from microwave and stir.
Remove apples from refrigerator and place apples--one at a time--in melted caramel, being sure to twist to coat the sides. When removing the apples from the caramel you can use a spoon to remove the excess caramel from the bottoms of the apples before rolling the caramel apples in your finely crushed Toffee Toppings. You may need to press the Toppings into the caramel to help them set firmly. Place each completed apple on your lined baking pan or platter and refrigerate.
(Optional) You can drizzle your apples with the following mixture: 2 cups of chocolate baking chips with 2 Tbsp. canola oil. You can use any kind of chocolate that you prefer (milk, semi-sweet, white). We used some of each. Place baking chips and canola oil in microwave-safe bowl and microwave on High until baking chips have just melted. Stir thoroughly. Dip a spoon into the chocolate mixture and drizzle over refrigerated caramel apples as desired. Enjoy!