We decided on a quick family gathering and even with my kitchen still in shambles, I decided to make something. Since all of my pans are packed up, it couldn't be a baked good. I had a slew of small apples so caramel apples fit the bill perfectly. Finding the sticks was the first challenge. I looked around in all the grocery stores and couldn't find anything so I finally went to Gygi. I washed all the apples and stuck the sticks in and put them in the freezer. Heating the cream and vanilla bean went well and then it was all downhill from there.
1- When bringing the cream, sugar, butter and corn syrup to a boil; my pot overflowed. Not the first time this has happened, not a big deal.
2- When the caramel was to temperature I took it off the heat and stirred only to find that I was mixing burnt bits from the bottom throughout the caramel. CRAP! I grabbed my strainer and did the best I could. I knew it was a gamble and luckily my strainer cleaned up well.
3- The dipping went well and I was able to get all of them done except one before the caramel set.
4- I had prepared all sorts of delicious toppings, crushed oreos, pecans and chocolate but the caramel had set way too fast so none of them stuck. Oh well.
5- Wanting to make sure that the caramel wasn't a complete loss (because of the burning incident), I popped a small ball of it in my mouth and chewed down on my back molars. Correction, on the crowns that act as my back molars. When attempting to open my jaw I felt the pulling on my crowns and immediately knew that I was in trouble. I chipped away what I could with my finger and sucked away what I could without pulling my crown apart. Eventually I was able to separate my teeth with keeping all of them intact. Whew. Have I mentioned that we don't have dental insurance until October? Bullet dodged!
6- Not wanting anyone else to get their teeth stuck together or potentially shatter some fillings and/or whatnot, I whacked a few on the counter to see how hard they really were which did not have good results.
The Verdict: Threw them all away. A complete and total waste.
Tips for Next Time: The caramel obviously cooked for too long which is why it was so hard/brittle and why it burned. I used a candy thermometer and took it off the heat at 245 degrees so I'm not sure what went wrong there. Problem is, I love caramel apples and they're so expensive so while I'd love to say "never again" it will probably be a "eh, maybe this time it will work?". But full disclosure, I have a giant brick of caramel in my pantry so I'll probably use that next time.
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