When it comes to Fall flavors, caramel apple is one of my very favorites. I was so inspired by the combo of salted caramel and tangy apple that I created this Caramel Apple Cake recipe last year (so good!) and topped it with a homemade caramel apple because yum. Instead of cake today though, let’s talk about caramel apples. Particularly, caramel apples dipped in this #Blessed sprinkle mix by SprinklePop:
While I love making homemade everything, I took the easy way out with my caramel apples this year and I do not regret it. I have a fantastic homemade salted caramel recipe that’s amazing for dipping apples in, but coating them with it is another story. It’s a tad runny which makes it perfect for drip cakes and flavoring buttercream, but in order to get a thick caramel coating on an apple you have to coat it, refrigerate, repeat. Instead, I bought a package of Kraft Caramels and followed the melting instructions on the back of the package. It tastes amazing and you have perfectly coated caramel apples in minutes, so I consider it a winner.
Some toppings I’ve loved for caramel apples in the past have been crushed Oreos, chopped nuts, and M&M’s, but the topping list is pretty endless. I recently took a trip to Disneyland and after seeing sprinkled caramel apples there I knew I had to try it. Right on cue, SprinklePop sent me their #Blessed sprinkle mix and it became the ideal opportunity to sprinkle some caramel apples.
The combination of red, brown, orange, and gold sprinkles are the ideal Fall color scheme. Plus, you’ll find some cute additional autumnal sprinkles in there: tiny pumpkin pie slices, acorns, and turkeys! The larger spherical sprinkles are actually Sixlets, so you get a little bit of chocolate in those bites.
Here’s a quick video of the decorating process before I show you how to create these sprinkley treats below:
You Will Need
- 5 apples, de-waxed and chilled
- Popsicle sticks or cookie sticks
- 1 package of Kraft Caramels
- Microwave safe bowl
- Wax or parchment paper
- 4 oz bottle of #Blessed sprinkles (or any favorite SprinklePop mix)
Step 1: Prepare The Apples
The perfect caramel apples all begin with some chilled and de-waxed apples. I love using Fuji or Honeycrisp apples, but you can feel free to use any favorite variety. De-waxing them will help the caramel adhere to the apple, and you can do that by running them under hot water and wiping them with a towel to remove the wax coating.
Once they’re de-waxed, stick them in the refrigerator for a few hours (or overnight) to get them nice and chilled for dipping. When it comes time to melt that caramel, be sure to remove the stems and insert a popsicle stick or cookie stick into the tops of the apples.
Step 2: Melt The Caramel
When your apples are prepped, you can start melting the caramel. Simply unwrap the Kraft Caramels one by one and place them into a glass bowl. I followed the microwave melting directions by adding 1 Tbsp of water and microwaving for one minute, stirring, then melting for an additional 30 seconds. If you’d rather melt them on the stove, the package instructions include a way to do that.
One package of Kraft Caramel is enough for five apples, so if you need more than that be sure to adjust the amount of caramel to suit your needs. I suggest working in small batches because the caramel doesn’t take long to set once it’s on the apples.
Step 3: Dip The Apples
Once your caramel is melted, it’s ready to go, so start dipping those apples! Spread out a sheet of wax or parchment paper on a flat surface and one by one, dip each apple in caramel.
The apples only need about five minutes to set once their coated with caramel, so by the time you’re done with the last apple it’s time to move on to the next step.
Step 4: Add Sprinkles
Place the sprinkles into a shallow bowl that’s big enough for dipping an apple in. I set aside some of the larger sprinkles in the mix so I could hand place them. One by one, dip the caramel apples into the sprinkles.
Add some of the larger sprinkles afterwards wherever you’d like.
These sprinkled caramel apples are ready to enjoy right away, but if you want to gift them or store them for awhile, you can keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week. And by the way, while I absolutely adore the #Blessed sprinkles for this technique, it will work with any of SprinklePop’s amazing sprinkles! There’s something for every look you could want with your caramel apples.
Disclaimer: This originally appeared as a guest post on SprinklePop’s blog and I was compensated by SprinklePop for my work of creating this project, styling, filming, photographing, and writing about their products. As always, all opinions are honest and my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support Sugar & Sparrow.
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