Chocolate Caramel Apples with Albino Spiders

 

Inspired by a trip to the NC State Fair this weekend, the impending arrival of my all-time favorite holiday, and continuing with my recent All Apples All the Time posting, I bring you a twist on an old favorite...chocolate caramel apples with albino spiders! Okay, the spiders are white chocolate but that doesn't sound nearly as cool.

Chocolate Caramel Apples with Albino Spiders

apples
6 small red delicious apples
1 (14 oz.) package microwaveable caramel
8-10 oz. chocolate candy melts, CandiQuik or candy coating
6 skewers (8") or candy/caramel apple sticks

albino spiders
2-4 oz. white candy melts, CandiQuik or candy coating
small disposable piping bag or small baggie

PRE-PREP

Here's a great way to get your caramel to stick better to the apple.  Boil a small pot of water.  Do a quick dip and rinse with your apples, then dry them off with a paper towel.

 

The hot rinse will help remove any shiny wax on the skin of the fruit and give it more of a matte finish.  This will help your caramel stick better. A shout out to my friend, Kathy, for that very helpful and effective hint.

APPLE DIPPIN' TIME

Skewer your apples. I  recommend using a more heavy duty stick because the combined weight of the apple + caramel + chocolate is going to required something more than the little popsicle sticks provided in the caramel apple kit.

I went with a microwaveable caramel coating

because it took less time than making caramel

from scratch and was much less messy too.

Heat your caramel according to package directions.  Coat your apples with the caramel.  Place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet or sheet of wax paper.  Place in the fridge to set while you melt the chocolate.

Melt the chocolate candy coating until smooth.

this is actually a full 16 oz. pack of chocolate, discovered

that I did not need all of it for this project, but you'll

see what I did with the leftover chocolate in an upcoming post

 

Remove the apples from the fridge.  Fold the excess caramel that's pooled under the apple back onto the apple.  Caramel should be malleable to fold and press without sticking to your hands or falling off the apple.

With the help of a spatula or spoon, coat the caramel-coated apple with the candy coating.  Gently shake off any excess and place on a sheet of wax paper on a cookie sheet (or in my case, on a wood cutting board).

Place the chocolate-coated apples back in the fridge to allow the chocolate to set.

SPIDERS (Optional)

Melt the white candy coating.

Fill a disposable piping bag, or small baggie with a small hole cut in the corner, with the melted chocolate.  Pipe the chocolate onto a sheet of wax paper.

To create the spiders you can draw four long lines that cross in the middle and then pipe a big blob in the middle -- voila! Albino Spider!  You want to make sure the "legs" aren't too thin or they'll break when you try to remove them.  Should only take a minute or two for the spiders to set.

To attach the spiders to your chocolate caramel apples, dip a butter knife or small pastry knife in a hot mug of water. 

 

 

Shake off excess water and while the knife is still warm, melt a small spot on the top of the apple and on the back of the spider, then press them together.  Should immediately attach.

 

And done!