about
about me.
i'm kelly.
26 year old stressbaker.
about-to-graduate grad school.
new england transplant.
eating through philly & the burbs.
baking my way into the hearts of friends.
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Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 11:41 AM
what to do with 18 lbs of apples (pt. 1)
So I've been wanting to go to Linvilla Orchards for months now. I missed strawberries in the spring and raspberries this summer, but I was not going to let anything stop me from apple picking this fall. I went last Sunday to scope the place out, but when I got there, I realized that apple picking is just no fun alone. So, I got myself some pumpkin ice cream (drool), a cider donut and poked around.
(just take a look at those little crystals of sugar and the tiny flecks of cinnamon. oh golly)
It was a productive trip. After taking in all the sites, eating my fill of fall-flavored food and getting a ton of eggplant (more on that later), I headed home, hoping to convince my friends to go apple picking with me later in the week.
My powers of persuasian worked. I got a bunch of my very wonderful friends together and we trekked down to Media Friday afternoon. Despite rush hour traffic, tick scares and getting pegged with rotten apples (thanks, Ben), we had a blast. I now have 18 lbs of apples at my disposal. I have a feeling this will be a delicious fall...
Here's a little taste of the first fruits of my labor (har har).
I wanted a recipe that used real ingredients rather than just melting store-bought caramels. I was in a hurry, so I had the heat on higher than I should have (hence the brown flecks of caramelized bits), but they were a hit!
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter ( no substitutes)
- 2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 8 -10 wooden sticks
- 8 -10 medium tart apples
Directions
- Insert 1 wooden stick into each apple.
- In a heavy saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and milk; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm ball stage) about 30-40 minutes and for a softer caramel cook just to a few less degrees.
- Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
- Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture; turn to coat.
- Holding by the stick, sprinkle with nuts or whatever you desire while the caramel is still warm (work quickly the caramel sets up fast).
- Set on generously buttered wax paper to cool (make certain to generously butter the paper).
- Note: if making a double recipe make two recipes in two separate pots.
Labels: apple picking, apples, caramel, donuts