Caramel Apples

Going to a parties where they can’t eat anything is hard on our kids. No chips, no cake, no candy, no ice cream! I try to always send them with a treat besides just dried figs and dates. Sometimes it’s coconut flour brownies and sometimes it’s coconut macaroons. For Halloween, though, we needed something a little more special to help them keep their paws out of the candy bowl!

Which is where caramel apples come in! Not only are they GAPS legal, I made enough of them for kids to share so they weren’t quite so left out. I used the caramel recipe from Internal Bliss, the GAPS cookbook. One batch made more than enough for 15 small apples plus some leftovers that I wrapped in wax paper to have on hand Halloween night.

Any apples will do for this recipe, really. I had some small Fujis that, when covered in caramel, went from meh to AWESOME.

Caramel Apples makes enough for 15 apples plus leftovers
2.5 c honey
1/2 c ghee or butter
1/4 t salt
1.5 c coconut milk
0.5 c water
15 or so apples (I used Fujis, but any apple will do, really)
coconut oil, ghee, or butter for greasing pan

1. Heat all ingredients in 3 qt saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until boiling.
2. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the mixture reaches 250 degrees F – hard ball stage. It will bubble up when you stir it – be fearless, though. The bubbling will subside when you stop stirring. If it doesn’t, take the mixture off the heat for a few seconds to restore sanity.
3. In the meantime, stab all of your apples with popsicle sticks (the kind from the craft store are fine). You want the stick to be about half in the apple, half out. Also cut fifteen 4″x4″ squares of wax paper to set the dipped apples on. Also grease an 8″x8″ glass baking pan. (Getting to 245 degrees over medium heat takes a while)
4. When the mixture has reached firm ball stage, turn down the heat so that the caramel is just simmering. You want it hot so that it sticks to the apple.
5. Dip each apple in the hot caramel, turning it so that all of the surfaces get covered. Set each apple on a square wax paper to cool.
6. Once you have dipped all of your apples, pour the remaining caramel into your prepared 8″x8″ pan and stick it in the fridge. When it’s cool enough to handle, you can wrap it in little squares of wax paper or just hack off chunks and eat it.
7. Enjoy!

This post is featured in the Momma’s Lounge Autumn Blog Hop and Fresh Bites Friday on Real Food Whole Health and Tasty Tuesdays.

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