So it seemed like a good idea. (That’s usually how Pinterest fail stories start, don’cha know.) Instead of dipping apples in caramel, hollow them out and fill them with caramel. More caramel! My eldest wanted to try, and volunteered to make the caramel (we did get a kit, but it was still a long time at the stove). The caramel tasted amazing! Apples are actually not hard to hollow out with a regular spoon, it is just tricky to do it neatly. Then the trouble began. Filling the apples made them tip and the caramel run out. Oops. So something to keep the apples from tipping should be added to the list.
Then when the apples were refrigerated to cool the caramel, the apples juiced. The moisture from the apples made the caramel watery and gross. I did go back and read a couple of the “instructions” (neither of which actually tested their recipe (clue #1)), and it was recommended to dry out the apples first. Hm. Even dipping them in lemon juice and drying them off wouldn’t have prevented the sugary caramel from drawing out the massive amount of water from the apples. As for slicing the apples into neat caramel-filled crescents, forget about it. The caramel popped right out of the apple.
I’m not sure what magic was wrought to create the pictures, but we didn’t have it. I see now from the picture that the original craftsperson put the apples in a muffin tray. They also added something from a bottle. Hm. Even if I were to find the proper instructions, the ratio of apple to caramel is hard to eat. And apple slices should be refrigerated and caramel should not. So the idea is intriguing but the execution, even when perfect, is a tiny window. Now a good dipped caramel apple can sit on a shelf for days, and be enjoyed at room temperature.
The good thing was that the chickens enjoyed the left-over apple innards! (I did not give them the sugar soaked shells.)
Critters and Craft 