Oreo Caramel Apple

Dang, I'm kind of on a roll.  Posting four times in two weeks.  Gettin all crazy. 

I hope that I haven't just jinxed myself. 

Anyway...

I know lots of you are saying the same thing.  Where did October go?  How can Halloween be a few days away?  It never ceases to amaze me how fast it all goes.  Even though I'm not quite sure how October snuck up on me, I'm happy for the change of weather.  Though again, it's in the 80's much of this week here in my corner of So Cal.  But at least our nights get cool enough to snuggle under our down comforter.

I was browsing through my food photos and realized I had a perfect October treat to post.  I actually made this caramel apple several months ago and then of course forgot all about it.  If you're looking for a fun goodie to make for Halloween or just to enjoy any day of the week, you can get very creative with caramel apples. 

Have you ever been to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory?  They are famous for their vast selection of dressed up caramel apples.  They have creations such as apple pie caramel apples, to Oreo caramel apples and peanut butter cup caramel apples, to name a few.  I haven't met an apple from Rocky Mountain I didn't like.  

Making your own caramel apple at home is easy to do.  Because you have to melt a fair amount of caramel and candy coating, I recommend making several apples at one time.  I only made two, which meant some of my ingredients went to waste. 

You can also give a fancy-fied caramel apple as a gift.  Place a fully set apple in a clear treat bag (from Michaels) and tie off with a festive ribbon.  But save one for yourself.  Because they are delcious!  And look at it this way.  Indulging in a cookie coated, caramel apple is better than eating a plain old cookie or candy bar.  The apple part makes this totally okay to eat...practically a healthy dessert. 

Really.

No, really. 

Maybe.  :)

Enjoy!

Oreo Caramel Apple
This is more of an ingredient list than an exact recipe. 

Granny Smith apples
Caramel candies (or make your own caramel)
Vanilla candy coating (or melted white chocolate)
Crushed Oreo cookies
Lollilop sticks

Crush Oreos in a sealed zip top bag using a mallet or rolling pin and place crushed cookies in a pie plate and set aside.  Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.  Remove stem from apple and insert lollipop stick 1/3 of way into apple.  Melt caramel candies (or make your own).  Dip apple in caramel and twirl around until evenly coated, leaving some green apple showing.  Allow excess to drip off and then place on prepared baking sheet and allow to set about 20-30 minutes. 

Make sure your crushed Oreos are handy.  Then melt vanilla candy coating (or white chocolate) and dip apple while still allowing caramel layer to show.  Place apple in the cookie filled pie plate and using your hands pat a generous amount crushed Oreos into the vanilla layer while still allowing vanilla layer to still show.  Some of the cookies will fall off but just keep packing them back on and patting them into the coating.  Return to parchment paper and allow to set.  You can place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to set quicker.  Don't refrigerate for too long or the apple will sweat.

Sweet Melissa Sundays Rewind: Snickerdoodles - Halloween Style

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays pick was for Goat Cheese, Olive and Thyme Muffins. I am not a huge fan of olives, thyme or savory muffins so I opted to do a rewind recipe this week. If Goat Cheese, Olive and Thyme Muffins sound good hop over to the Sweet Melissa Sundays site and see the results of those who baked along this week. Thanks to Hanaa for hosting!

I chose a recipe from the Sweet Melissa Baking Book that was done by the group before I joined. Snickerdoodles! I love snickerdoodles and thought they would make a perfect Halloween treat for my nieces, nephews and little second cousins. A little decorative orange sugar and they were instantly Halloweenized (new word!).


The snickerdoodles turned out great! Chewy in the center and a touch crisp on the outside. But be very, very careful to not over bake them. A minute makes a big difference! Snickerdoodles are meant to be chewy, not crunchy!


I packaged the snickerdoodles in clear plastic goodie bags, added each child's name on the outside of the bag using decorative black alphabet stickers, closed the bag with a twist tie, tied the bag off using orange and white curling ribbon and the finishing touch was a creepy black spider ring tucked in around the bow. The cookies were a big hit with the kids and so were the spider rings.



For the recipe click here. If you want to add colored sugar simply add the desired amount to the cinnamon sugar mixture called for in the recipe. I added several tablespoons (3-4) of orange decorative sugar. The cookies have that cinnamon snickerdoodle taste with a splash of color!

Happy Halloween!