Caramel apples are one of my favorite treats. Even though they are covered in sugar and chocolate, there's something about having fruit at the heart of a dessert that helps me feel less guilty about eating it- most of the time.

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One of our favorite fall traditions is having a candy apple making party with our friends. Last year we invited my little daughter’s friends to join us, and this year we invited my teenage son’s buddies. It seems no matter the age, everyone loves to learn how to make this easy Halloween treat! It may not be super gourmet when the kids are slopping the toppings on, but it all tastes delicious!

Before you make the caramel:

1. Wash your apples well, and let dry completely.

Poke a wooden stick in the center of the apple. We also use craft sticks or even plastic knives. Whatever you have hanging around.

2. Lightly sand your apples with sand paper to help the caramel stick (optional)

Homemade Caramel

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup light corn syrup

2 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla

8-10 apples

Directions:

Combine the first three ingredients in a large saucepan. When the butter is melted, add the condensed milk. Stirring constantly, cook to 230 degrees (soft ball stage). Take off heat, and stir in vanilla. Let it cool for a few minutes before dipping—super hot caramel is more likely to slide off.

For a print friendly version, click here.

You can also unwrap and melt already made caramels from the store, but my kids love making the caramel from scratch. It's rich and buttery, and makes the house smell amazing. Granny Smith apples are my favorite to use because their tart nature keeps the sweetness from over powering your palate.

I really love this candy apple dipping tutorial from Orson Gygi combined with our caramel recipe.

Roll the apples in the caramel and let the excess drip off. We've found the toppings stay on better after the caramel has cooled on the apples for a bit. So once we had the apples covered in caramel we went about melting our chocolate.

Using a double boiler on the stove would be ideal, but with 7 kids running around the house, I don't have the patience for it. I use the microwave. I melt in 30 second increments, stirring in between so I don't burn the chocolate. Then use a spoon or fork to drizzle it over your apples.

We've used lots of different toppings through the years: white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, Health, Snickers, Reeses, pretzels, M&Ms, nuts, coconut, cinnamon sugar, are just a few off the top of my head. This a great way to use up leftover Halloween candy!

This is especially fun when we have friends over and everyone can make their own to take home.

These apples aren't perfect (my assistant chefs are kids), but the taste is all that matters anyway!!

And just to keep it a little more real, here's what it looks like behind the scenes during my food photography sessions.