Update: If you are looking for an easy caramel apple recipe for a fall party or little hands you will love my Caramel Apple Slices recipe with lots of tips & tricks!
Happy Thursday!
I had originally planned on doing a Transformation Tuesday of my original Mini Caramel Apples recipe, but I soon realized that it would only make sense if I created a whole new post to discuss this festive fall treat.
There are so many pictures floating around Pinterest showing a collage of pictures on how to make Mini Caramel Apples & they make it seem so easy.
But the truth is that it is not that simple!
The 3 biggest problems with Mini Caramel Apples is the juice, weepiness, & gravity.
Now I’m not saying it is impossible to make perfect Mini Caramel Apples, I am however saying that it can be difficult & that you’ll really have to work for it.
When recreating these Mini Caramel Apples I experimented with many different techniques.
Two years ago a reader noted on a pin of my original Mini Caramel Apples that cornstarch would help soak up the excess juice from the apple.
So after scooping my mini apples, & patting them dry with a paper towel, I coated them with varying amounts of cornstarch.
Another technique I tried was with varying temperatures of the caramel, which really didn’t seem to have much of an effect.
I also worked really hard against gravity.
After dipping my Mini Caramel Apples (with a toothpick stuck in the top) I held it upside down, then right side up, then upside down, & so forth until it started to harden. After a few minutes of doing this with just one Mini Caramel Apple I realized it would take me all day if I continued with this technique.
So I poked some holes in an old tea box & placed the top of the toothpick in the hole so the mini caramel apple was upside down. Then when gravity had pulled all of the caramel to the top of the apple I placed it right side up in a mini muffin tin, & then continued this upside down-right side up battle with gravity until the caramel had completely hardened.
Although some of the Mini Caramel Apples lasted for an hour or two at room temperature there were just as many that weeped, causing the caramel to slide off.
I contemplated more ways to make these Mini Caramel Apples a quick & easy edible DIY that would last for several hours at room temperature, but I didn’t think my husband would like me using up all of our apples to try out all of my ideas.
So if you have enough apples & feel like doing some testing here are a few ways I thought about experimenting with my Mini Caramel Apples:
+ Leave the scooped apples in the fridge over night to dry out (yes they might turn brown).
+ Put the scooped apples in the freezer for an hour before dipping in caramel.
+ Place the mini caramel apples in the freezer right after dipping & topping.
+ Put the scooped apples in a sealed container of rice overnight to pull out the moisture.
+ Dip the scooped apples in dark chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, or butterscotch before dipping them in caramel.
+ Place the scooped apples on a pan in the oven, at the lowest temperature possible, to evaporate the extra moisture.
If you try any of these ways or come up with another way that works feel free to leave your success or failure story in the comments. We can all learn from each other!
My advice is that you do this as a fall family project & just have fun making memories.
If you try to do this for a party or event there is a high probability that you will start throwing apples & eating the caramel out of the pan out of frustration.
If you are dead set on having these at your next fall party (which I totally understand because they are super cute!) I suggest you have everything pre-set up & let your guests dip their own & top with their favorite toppings. Or you can try this Caramel Apple Slices recipe!
Mini Caramel Apples
Mini Caramel Apples recipe with tips, tricks & advice.
Ingredients
- Apples
- Melon Baller
- Paper Towels
- Cornstarch
- Toothpicks
- Caramel
- Toppings – Mini Chocolate Chips, Crushed Peanuts, Sprinkles
- Twigs
Instructions
- Wash your apples & scoop out mini apples with your melon baller.
- Pat the mini apples dry with a paper towel, coat them in cornstarch, & stick a toothpick in the top of each mini apple.
- Melt your caramel according the their packaging directions & dip your mini apples in the caramel.
- Top with your favorite toppings & let harden.
- Replace the toothpick with a clean twig.
- Serve immediately & enjoy!
Notes
- Read all of Domestically Blissful’s tips, tricks, & advice for creating Mini Caramel Apples at http://domesticallyblissful.com/mini-caramel-apples-revisited/
I’d love to see your Mini Caramel Apples!
Feel free to comment below, email me, or tweet me on Twitter!
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With love, G
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though He was rich,
yet for your sake He became poor,
so that you by his poverty might become rich.
2 Corinthians 8:9
Would you coat in cornstRatch if you were dipping them in chocolatE?
Hello Mia!
I’ve tried lightly coating them in cornstarch, but I have done some more testing since creating this post & have an even better method! You can see it here: https://domesticallyblissful.com/caramel-apple-slices/
I hope you have a blissful week! 🙂
i wonder if you were to take a Carmel and soften it and flatten it and wrap it around the apple, if that might be enough to keep the weeping at bay for longer? This of course would yield just a plain Carmel apple as I don’t think it would be too sticky to allow for sprinkles or decor.
Hey Jenn!
That would probably work! It would look a bit different, but it should help avoid the weeping problem! 🙂
Thanks for your comment. Happy fall!! 🙂
I have never had success with using store-bought caramel. It always “weeps” off. Find a homemade recipe you love and use that instead. I have found it always sticks better. I’m going to try it this weekend with your apple slices. I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂
Thank you, Heather, for your comment!
I hope you enjoyed your Caramel Apple Slices & that you are having a blissful fall! 🙂