Party Caramel Apples

Ingredients

• 8 medium Red Delicious apples
• 8 Popsicle sticks
• 2-1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1-1/2 teaspoons molasses
• Dash salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Chopped salted peanuts and red-hot candies
• 4 ounces white baking chocolate, chopped
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

Wash and dry apples; remove stems. Insert Popsicle sticks into bottoms of apples. Place on a buttered baking sheet; refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, milk, corn syrup, maple syrup, molasses and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer reads 248°(firm-ball stage). Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla.

Dip apples, one at a time, into caramel and then into an ice-water. bath for 1-2 seconds to set caramel. Dip apples in peanuts; place on the buttered baking sheet. Press red-hot candies onto apples as desired.

In a microwave, melt white chocolate; stir until smooth. Transfer to a small resealable plastic bag; cut a hole in a corner of the bag. Drizzle over apples. Repeat with semisweet chocolate. Decorate with red-hot candies and additional nuts. Let stand until set. Yield: 8 caramel apples.

• Nutrition Facts: 1 caramel apple equals 911 calories, 31 g fat (19 g saturated fat), 65 mg cholesterol, 293 mg sodium, 161 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 6 g protein.