Caramel Apples

Ingredients

• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon dark molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 medium apples
• Assorted decorations

Directions

1. Add the sugar, butter, cream, corn syrup, molasses, vanilla, and salt to a heavy 3 to 4-quart saucepan, leaving out the salt if your butter is salted. Set the pan over medium to medium low heat and stir gently with a wooden spoon until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. If crystals collect along the sides, use a damp pastry brush to wash them back down into the mixture. Bring the caramel to a strong boil, lowering or raising the heat as needed so it stays in the pan, and keep stirring slowly in a figure-eight motion.
2. Clip on or hold a candy thermometer and watch the caramel closely. Once it registers 240 degrees F, after about 15 minutes of boiling, take the pan off the heat and transfer the caramel to a metal bowl.
3. Leave the caramel in the bowl until it cools to just under 200 degrees F. That is your dipping window.
4. As the caramel cooks and cools, prepare a baking sheet with a Silpat or buttered aluminum foil. Push sticks, using lollipop sticks, sturdy wooden skewers, or chopsticks, into the apples through the stem end and down the center.
5. The caramel will continue to firm up as it cools. When it is thick enough to stay on the fruit instead of running straight off, dip the apples one by one. Turn each apple in the caramel so it is covered all around, leaving only the area closest to the stick bare. Lift it from the bowl and pause so the extra caramel can fall back in.
6. Set each dipped apple on the prepared baking sheet. A small puddle of caramel will gather underneath, and that is fine. Coat the rest of the apples the same way, then chill them for 15 minutes.
7. After the apples have chilled for 15 minutes, the caramel should be cool enough to handle but still flexible. Take them out of the refrigerator and gently press any caramel that has settled at the bottom back up onto the sides.
8. If you are adding sprinkles, chopped nuts, or other coatings, roll the caramel apples in them now. Put the apples back in the refrigerator and chill for at least another hour.
9. Store the apples in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them, and bring them to room temperature before eating. The caramel apples will keep for 2 weeks chilled. If you are giving them as gifts, wrap each one in plastic wrap.