As soon as the air begins to crisp up, my husband, Taylor, gets giddy. He wants to do nothing but pick pumpkins, eat soup, and caramelize apples. I love autumn, too. It's everything family, cozy, earthy, and delicious.
I'm always looking for great ideas to add to our list of traditions. So, here's my proposal for today's forum. If I share our favorite caramel apple recipe (a la my sister, Kathryn), will you share your favorite autumn tradition? Deal?
Gourmet Caramel Apples
*15 large apples (we love Granny Smith. you decide!) washed, stemmed, and dried
*Homemade caramel (see recipe below)
*Melted chocolate and/or white chocolate
*Assorted toppings (chopped nuts (toasted pecans are delish), coconut, toffee bits, mini m&ms, finely chopped candy bars, etc.)
*Candy apple sticks
Insert stick into apple. Dip into caramel to coat. Let excess drip off. Roll immediately in desired toppings. Place apple on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Place in the freezer for a few minutes to set caramel. Next drizzle chocolate over the apple. (I like to pipe it out with a fine pastry tip.) Let it set in the freezer again. Drizzle another kind of chocolate. Let it set. The apple will keep a few days out of the refrigerator and up to two weeks in the refrigerator. Wrap finished apples in cellophane or in large favor bags and tie with ribbon.
Homemade Caramel:
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. light corn syrup
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
Combine ingredients in saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook until mixture reaches 238 degrees. Let it cool slightly before dipping apples.
Enjoy!
-Anne
Your turn...
I have never actually made those caramel apples myself, but Kathryn sent me some in the mail last year and it was pretty much the best package I had ever received. They are awesome. I don't think we have any very unusual Autumn traditions at our house, but once in awhile I meet a Utahn who still doesn't know about the witches at Gardner Village. A must-do with kids. Check their website for details -- there's a checklist you can print out so your kids can "hunt" for the various ones.
ReplyDeleteThose look delicious! I love to make carmel popcorn... so good!
ReplyDeleteMy husband always heads up the fall foods--caramel apples and an enormous bubbling pot of wassail are his favorite picks (we just had the wassail last night, actually). We also like to bake fall goodies--pumpkin muffins or frosted sugar cookies--and take them to our neighbors.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the muffins, here's a link to my recipe: http://icooktorelax.blogspot.com/2008/10/chocolate-chip-pumpkin-muffins.html
We don't really have any autumn traditions, but this year we are going to make pumpkin butterscotch cookies and deliver them to friends along with a glittered pumpkin.
ReplyDeleteTotal side note. Do your kids ever watch the electric company on pbs? The guy who plays Hector could seriously be Taylor's twin brother!
mmmm, those apples look so yummy and festive.
ReplyDeleteOur autumn traditions are pretty predictable - a pumpkin patch, a lot of baking. This year we made some homemade decorations to add to our existing collection - that was really fun. And from October through December, I've almost always got cinnamon sticks boiling on the stove or some sort of spice-scented candle burning.
oh, i also try to send some "harvest greetings" to our families who are far away - i have a lot more success with this than Christmas cards.
- em
Sleepy Hollow just replaced the Pumpkin Patch. Anything with canned pumpkin in the ingredients is baked. I love fall!
ReplyDeleteI head up our community's Annual Fall Festival, my little brain child. It includes a 5k, dinner, a rock wall, carnival games, and a movie in the park. It's a lot of work, but I do it because I want my kids to grow up with a sense of community and tradition like I did, and I think it's working. They look forward to it every year.
ReplyDeleteI'm going out to buy apples right now! YUM! As far as our autumn traditions, we like to head to a local family farm where we take a hay ride, go on tarp slides, feed goats, pick pumpkins and find our way through a corn maze. Of course, we come home to Krispy Kremes and cider which is the real reason I go. :) Liz, I've totally heard of the witches at Gardner Village, but sadly have never ventured to take my kids there! Does that make me a bad mom?
ReplyDeleteIt's so funny b/c I am super passionate about our Christmas traditions...but I don't think we have a single "official" fall tradition?! hmmm. Thanks for making me think about that one! :) We will have to come up with something...and thanks to Sarah's ideas and your yummy apple recipe I'm sure that won't be too difficult!
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