AN APPLE A DAY

With Autumn always comes memories of traditional fall treats like caramel, chocolate, and candy apples.  These Halloween dessert recipes are sure to brighten your family's celebration. Make some of these delicious treats to serve at your next Halloween party.  They are delicious, affordable and very easy to prepare.  Learning how to make BOO-tiful Halloween treats is not difficult, especially with great recipes.  Just use your imagination.

The celebration of Halloween originated from an ancient Celtic religious festival that signified the start of the darker season of winter on November 1st.  In the 800s, a new holiday was established on this date by the Christian church. It was called All Hallows or All Saints' Day. The word "Hallow" means "one who is holy." October 31, the evening before All Saints' Day, became known as All Hallows' Eve, or All Hallow e'en, hence, Halloween.

Early settlers to North America brought their popular beliefs and customs with them, yet originally Halloween was an adult celebration. It wasn't until the early 1900s that it became closer identified with children.

The old Halloween traditions became the basis for our current celebrations. Halloween dessert recipes, costume disguises, candlelit jack-o'-lanterns, candy treats, apples and silly acts of mischief all became part of the holiday.

The main part of celebrating Halloween today is the candy treats. Much of the candy handed out nowadays is store-bought for safety's sake, but there was once a time when it was mostly homemade. Apples, popcorn balls, chocolate fudge, hard candies and apples were all enjoyed.  Nothing beats tasty old fashioned Halloween treats!

Shiny Red Candy Apples

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups corn syrup
1/3 cup cinnamon Red Hots candy
1 cup water
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cloves
3/4 teaspoon red food coloring
6 of your favorite type of eating apple, medium size
6 wooden skewers (often found in the produce dept.)

First prepare the apples for candy coating by washing them and removing the stems. Take a skewer and stab it right into the middle of the apple at its blossom end, and repeat for each apple. Be careful not to poke the skewer through the other side of the apple though. If wooden skewers are unavailable, a Popsicle stick with one end sharpened can be used in a pinch.

In a small or medium sized saucepan set on medium heat combine sugar, corn syrup, cinnamon candies, and water. Stir and keep stirring until everything is dissolved. Then stir some more just to make sure it's all dissolved. Once everything is dissolved, add cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, and food coloring to the mix.

Now boil mixture to 300 on the candy thermometer, or until the syrup is slightly brittle when tested in cold water. Remove from heat and quickly dip your apples into your candy coating and be sure to coat them well. Slowly twirling the apple will help spread the syrup over the apple.

Place them with the skewer pointing up on waxed paper or a greased cookie sheet and allow them to harden. They will be quite hot for a while so make sure you let them cool completely to room temperature before eating!

HALLOWEEN CARAMEL APPLES

6 Granny Smith apples
6 wooden candy apple sticks or skewers
1 (14 ounce) package individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 tablespoons coarse salt

Chopped nuts of choice
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, opt.
Extra chocolate chips for decorating, opt.

Insert wooden candy apple sticks or skewers 3/4 of the way into the stem end of each apple. Combine caramels and water in a saucepan over low to medium heat. Stir often to get a smooth caramel mixture. Dip apples into hot caramel and carefully twirl to produce an even coating.  Roll in chopped walnuts, pecans or peanuts.

Place caramel-coated apples standing up on a sheet of foil or a cookie sheet for easy decorating and cooling. Sprinkle evenly with the coarse salt and place in the fridge.

OPTIONAL ADDITION:  Melt chocolate chips in a small pot over boiling water while stirring until the melted chocolate is smooth and creamy. Randomly drizzle melted chocolate over the apples. Sprinkle with the extra chocolate. Return to refrigerator to cool until ready to serve and eat.

Chocolate Apples

Wash 10 apples and remove their stems. Pat dry. Insert a popsicle stick into the center of each apple, going about halfway through.. If you want to decorate the chocolate apples with sprinkles or chopped peanuts (1/2 cup), pour them into separate bowls. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.

Melt 2 lbs. of semisweet chocolate (chopped or in chips) by microwaving in 10 seconds at a time, stirring between intervals until fully melted. (Or place the chocolate in small saucepan set over a larger saucepan filled with water. Bring the water to a gentle simmer, making sure the water doesn’t touch the topmost pan.) Stir until melted. Remove from the stove. Dip the apples in the melted chocolate; if desired, immediately dip and roll in the sprinkles and/or nuts. Place on the prepared baking sheet and allow the chocolate 20 to 30 minutes to harden.

Please feel free to use the gift tags I made especially for giving these as Halloween gifts!  Right click each one and save to your computer, then run them on card stock and tie them to the apple stick.