Hannah was craving Caramel Apples this Halloween season and it just didn’t seem right to buy some pre-made thing at the supermarket that was probably produced last Halloween. A little bit of searching and a fair amount of fire later we had the perfect Adult Halloween Treat, Bourbon Caramel Apples. With a recipe I found and tweaked a bit it was easier than going trick or treat.
Bourbon Caramel Apples
Making these caramel apples is child’s play, but with the addition of bourbon the result is a decidedly grown-up confection.
8 small apples
2 cups light brown sugar
1/3 cup honey (children under 1 shouldn’t eat honey)
1 cup bourbon, I used a mixture of Bulleit Bourbon and Maker’s Mark (children under 21 shouldn’t drink Bourbon)
1/2 cup cream
4 tablespoons butter
First things first, do you want to get the booze out of the bourbon? I did since I wanted to share with a pregnant wife and little ones. I wasn’t sure of the right way to do this but I poured 1 cup of Bourbon into a saucepan (we love Bulleit Bourbon) and warmed it outside on the gas grill. Once the bourbon was warm I turned the burner off and carefully lit the bourbon on fire, letting all of the alcohol burn off. This took a few minutes and requires paying close attention, the fame is a translucent blue color and difficult to see, but it’s there. If you take this route be careful and have a fire extinguisher handy. OK, disclaimers done, let’s get to it.
Wash and dry apples and remove stems. Insert craft sticks into stem ends of apples and set aside, or if the stems are firm you can skip the sticks like we did and just use tongs to dip the apples in the hot Caramel. This makes the apples last longer and allows you to cut them up into slices and share.
Combine sugar, bourbon, corn syrup and cream in a medium-size saucepan and boil over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally. Cook until mixtures reaches 250 degrees. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Dip apples into caramel letting excess drip off and place on parchment paper which has been lightly coated with cooking spray. Roll in crushed-salted blister peanuts for crunch and a little salty contrast. Cool until set. Once set in an hour or two you can also dip in dark chocolate, white chocolate or whatever your fancy. If you don’t eat them all first.
Recipe adapted from: http://www.semissourian.com/story/1582293.html
