Spooky White Caramel Apples

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It’s here! SPOOKY SEASON.

I’m sad that we won’t be hosting our annual Halloween party AGAIN, but don’t fret, there will still be treats. We might just have to deliver them to friends and neighbors instead. I don’t think there is anything more quintessentially Fall than a caramel apple. I really had so much fun creating these cute and creepy White Caramel Apples. They are just the right amount of spook, but not overly scary.

You don’t have to be intimidated by making these, they really were so easy to make. And Ghirardelli’s White Vanilla Flavored Melting Wafers make it a breeze. Simply melt, dip, chill and enjoy! Tempering is a very exact science, and with Ghirardelli’s melts you don’t have to fuss with that at all. And the best part – these melts tastes amazing. You’ll never use another melt again, I promise.

Ok, let’s get started. Here’s what you will need:

apples (I used a mix of granny smiths and honey crisps)
sticks (I foraged some twigs)
caramel
Ghirardelli White Vanilla Flavored Melting Wafers and Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Flavored Melting Wafers
Candy Eyeballs

The first thing you need to do is really clean your apples. A lot of apples a waxed before hitting the grocery store shelves. If you don’t get rid of this waxy coating, your caramel will slide right off.

I soaked my apples in some cold water and an organic fruit and veggie wash. Then I made sure to dry the apples thoroughly with a towel.

You can use a popsicle stick, but I love how the natural twigs look in this apples. You will want sticks that are at least 6 inches long so that you can insert the stick quite a ways into the apple. Using a pocket knife or utility knife, sharpen one end and remove the bark. This will make spearing the apples a little easier.

And now you are ready to prepare your caramel and dip your apples. You can definitely be a super star and make your own caramel from scratch (I like this recipe best). But, you can also just buy a bag of caramels from the grocery store and melt them over the stove with a tablespoon of water. I mean….. I’m not going to tell anyone if you don’t. And whether you make your caramel from scratch or not, I do suggest scraping one vanilla bean into the warm caramel. It adds just a little extra and looks really pretty too.

Let the extra caramel run off the apples and scrape the bottom on the apple off completely. Don’t worry there will still be a pretty puddle of caramel at the bottom of the apple.

Place the freshly dipped apples on a parchment lined cookie sheet and place the apples into the fridge right away. Once the caramel cools it will solidify and you will be ready for the white layer.

Now we are ready to dip in the melting wafers! Ghirardelli Melting Wafers can be melted on the stove top in a double boiler or in the microwave at half power. I went old school and melted mine on the stove. I poured the melted wafers into a slim cylindric container so that it would be deep enough to dip the apple in.

Just like with the caramel, let the excess run off and then scrape the bottom on the apple off as well. I chose to dip my apples about halfway because I wanted to show off all the layers. You can dip as much or as little as you’d like. Place back on the parchment paper lines cookie sheet and chill in the fridge again.

Once set, you can add the eyes. I simply dabbed the back of the eye in some melted vanilla wafers and then adhered the eyes to the apples. I tried adding the eyes right after dipping the apples, but this just slid right off.