Seriously. I took my dog outside this morning and thought, “finally! It’s cool-maybe even chilly!” Mind you it was in the 60’s…probably not even the low 60’s. I think I’ve been in the South too long…Montana called and told me to claim another state. At least, I finally feel like fall is finally coming.
I’m excited to say goodbye to the heat of AZ and start welcoming in all of those fall activities. Making caramel apples, wearing sweaters (does this even happen in AZ?!!!), decorating with pumpkins and gourds. This cooler weather has me thinking about a little something we did for the boys’ teachers last year. I’m thinking we might have to do it again!
We started out with apples. I like to think they were from Washington, but who knows where they come from when you are in Texas. I learned awhile ago that you have to get all of the wax off of them. Otherwise, your caramel apples end up on Pinterest as a Pinterest fail. Of course, I do not have firsthand knowledge of said caramel sliding off of apple onto the wax paper it was sitting on. I found a spray in the produce isle at the grocery store that worked well.
I chose simple last year and went with store bought caramel. I think this year we will try some homemade caramel. yum. I melted the caramels down with a bit of cream. After dipping the apples, I put them in the fridge to firm up, then dipped them in chocolate. The apples got to roll in some chopped walnuts as a finish. Mmmmm it was so hard not to eat them!
We had one last thing to do to dress up these gourmet apples…package them up with a nice bow!
This year, I will be setting one aside for me. I won’t make that mistake again!
What fall traditions do you follow?
Oh I love caramel apples and make them each year to give as gifts. Yours look awesome! I saw a chef from the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York on a show once and he gave the recipe for the ones that they serve there. They have caramel, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, pecans and then they have swirls of white chocolate on them. They are always such a big hit. I always look forward to Fall baking.
Alicia, Those sound delicious! It would be very difficult to walk away from that treat! We made these for teachers, because I love the idea of giving them an “apple”.