Gourmet Caramel Apples

These apples make great gifts and are easy to make in assembly line using a crock pot. I like to package them in plain brown lunch bags with a bit of ribbon and a tag for Christmas. Coffee Filters work great for holding apples inside bags. Each apple feeds about 6 people when you slice it into wedges. Ingredients: 3 packages (14 oz.) caramel candies 2 T water 6-8 large Granny Smith apples 6-8 wooden skewers or sticks Chocolate – Total 24 oz. in the flavors you desire: Dark Chocolate (best to use good quality like Ghirardelli) White Chocolate Milk Chocolate Suggested coatings: Crushed Oreos Nuts Candy Sprinkles Holiday colored plain M&Ms Crushed candybars (Butterfinger, Snickers, Heath Toffee) Peanut butter pretzels Peanut Butter Chips Waxed paper Preparation: Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper, set aside. Wash and completely dry apples. Insert a stick through stems. Put coating ingredients in separate bowls. Heat caramels and water in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until caramels melt. Cool slightly. If making a lot of apples, you can melt the caramel in a crock pot. Dip each apple in caramel mixture coating evenly. Use a spoon to help cover the apple. Allow caramel to set slightly and then dip again, if desired. While caramel is still liquid, roll the apple into the desired coating. This does not have to be neat, and looks great when really textured as with cookie pieces. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. The amount of chocolate you melt depends on how much of each kind you use. Figure approx. 3 oz. per apple total. Use a spoon to drizzle melted chocolate onto apple completely encasing the apple in chocolate. I use two kinds of chocolate per apple to give it texture and great flavor. When chocolate is set, package for gift giving! Yields: 6-8 apples