Mini Salted Caramel-Dipped Apples

Another super yummy fall recipe, just in time for all the Thanksgiving festivities! I stumbled upon these mini apples at Whole Foods this week and knew I had to snatch them up quick - these tend to disappear from the shelves as quickly as they appear. 

I looked through several caramel recipes before settling on this one from Bon Appetite. While making caramel from scratch made seem daunting because of the candy thermometer, I guarantee you the results will be well worth your time and effort. Of course, you can always make caramel apples the easy way (melting caramel candies in the microwave) but the taste and texture doesn't compare to the real thing!

The recipe creates a darker caramel from the use of dark brown sugar, molasses and dark corn syrup. I only had light brown sugar and light corn syrup on hand so I ended up with a lighter caramel in comparison to the ones on the BA website. I also upped the salt content as I love salted caramel. I had alot of caramel leftover so will be using it for some salted caramel macarons and chocolate covered caramel pretzels.

Mini Salted Caramel-Dipped Apples 
adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients 
1 1-pound box dark brown sugar 
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk 
2/3 cup dark corn syrup 
1/3 cup pure maple syrup 
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
1 teaspoon robust-flavored (dark) molasses 
2 teaspoon salt
30 mini apples
30 sticks (lollipop sticks, wooden skewers, etc)
Chopped peanuts 

Ingredients 
Combine first 8 ingredients in heavy 2 1/2-quart saucepan (about 3 inches deep). Stir with wooden spatula or spoon over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves (no crystals are felt when caramel is rubbed between fingers), occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, about 15 minutes. Attach clip-on candy thermometer to side of pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook caramel at rolling boil until thermometer registers 236°F, stirring constantly but slowly with clean wooden spatula and occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, about 12 minutes. 

Pour caramel into metal bowl (do not scrape pan). Submerge thermometer bulb in caramel; cool, without stirring, to 200°F, about 20 minutes. While caramel cools, line 2 baking sheets with foil; butter foil. Push 1 chopstick into stem end of each apple. Set up chopped peanuts. 

Holding chopstick, dip 1 apple into 200°F caramel, submerging all but very top of apple. Lift apple out, allowing excess caramel to drip back into bowl. Turn apple caramel side up and hold for several seconds to help set caramel around apple.

Place coated apple on prepared foil. Repeat with remaining apples and caramel, spacing apples apart (caramel will pool on foil). If caramel becomes too thick to dip into, add 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream and briefly whisk caramel in bowl over low heat to thin. Chill apples on sheets until caramel is partially set, about 15 minutes. Lift 1 apple from foil. 

Using hand, press pooled caramel around apple; return to foil. Repeat with remaining apples. Firmly press chopped peanuts into caramel; Chill until decorations are set, about 1 hour. Cover; chill up to 1 week.