Fall Caramel Apples with HoneyBear Apples

 Apples! Nothing screams fall more than apples. I'm working with HoneyBear again to bring you a new dessert just in time for Halloween. Honeybear is a leading grower and developer of premium apple varieties. They are family owned and have been in operation for more than forty years! Honeybear offers a supply of premium apples and pears on a year-round basis. You can find more information about HoneyBear on their website! 

Did you know that Honeycrisps are America's favorite apple? They are excellent for eating fresh, adding to salads, or baking. Or in this case, making the perfect caramel apple! And nothing says fall treats like a sticky caramel apple! But before we get to the recipe, I wanted to share a fun new detail that HoneyBear is bringing to snacking. Introducing the "All the Feels" emojis! The Honeycrisp apples (along with Gala's) will now don the All the Feels emoji stickers, in hopes that kids will reach for this healthy snack to see which feelings emoji they can relate to most! Introducing Satisfied, Happy, Hangry (aren't we all), and Tears of Joy! How super cute are these guys? You can find yours at your local Hy-Vee now!

And now for the moment we've all been waiting for.....it's time to talk about all things Caramel Apples! With Halloween being right around the corner, and with things looking very different this year regarding Trick or Treating, why not whip up this classic treat for the whole family! What's great about caramel apples, is that you can be a purest and leave them in their natural form, just caramel. Or you can go completely gourmet and add all the toppings you can imagine! I went for the both. Simple and with all the sprinkles. And even though the outside of the apple is covered with ooey goodness, you can feel good that inside is a healthier treat! 

The first thing you need to do is prep your apples. Apples from the grocery store come with a wax coating. You need to remove that coating if you want any caramel to stick to the apple. First off, remove the stem, the emoji stickers (sorry guys), and wash them. Next, place them in a large bowl and cover them with hot to slightly boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Remove the apples and dry them off. Leave them at room temperature. 

Next up, place your stick within the top of the apple. This can be tricky! The core is pretty tough, so I use a skinny screwdriver wrapped in a paper towel to prep the hole. I then press the stick into my "pre-drilled" hole.

Let's get started! Here is what you'll need for the caramel.

Two Sticks or 1 Cup of Butter

1 1/2 Cups of Brown Sugar

1 1/4 Cup of Light Corn Syrup

One 14 oz can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 1/2 Tablespoons of Vanilla

Add all of your ingredients to your pot, minus the vanilla, making sure your pot is large enough for all the contents to boil and for dipping your apple later on. Bring the beginnings of your caramel mixture to a boil and then add your candy thermometer. And I hate to say it, but you will need a candy thermometer for this. A regular cooking thermometer won't work. Place your thermometer along the side of the pot, making sure it doesn't touch the bottom. That will provide an inaccurate reading. Just make sure it's resting just slightly inside the caramel. Bring the thermometer to between 245 and 250 degrees. This can take up to 20 minutes are so, so be prepared for a bicep cramp!!

(Here's a little tip. Spray your measuring cup with cooking spray before adding your corn syrup. It will pour out of the cup with ease!)

After the caramel has come to a hard boil, and reached 250 degrees, it's time to remove it from the stove. Add your vanilla and stir to combine. 

Now, it's showtime! You must act quickly. The caramel will only harden and set the longer it's off the heat. I make sure to have my prep station setup before hand. You won't regret it.

I place my pot of caramel on a trivet or hot pad, place all of my add-ons to the side of caramel for quick dipping, and a parchment lined tray to the side of that. Now it's time to dip! PLEASE BE CAREFUL!!! I have burned myself on the caramel before and had one of the worst burns I've ever! This stuff is hot!! I think this is definitely an adults only step. Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's dip! 

Submerge your apple in the caramel and swirl until all sides, and as much of the top as you can get, are covered in caramel. Remove and allow the excess to run off. I continue to swirl the apple to coat the whole thing and to help the removal process move along quicker. Once you feel you have all the caramel off, place it on the parchment paper. Continue this process until all apples are coated in the caramel. If you are using sprinkles, or any other add-ons, dunk the apple into the add-on just after the caramel process. Again, act fast. The caramel hardens quickly and the sprinkles may not stick. I had this happen as well, but don't worry, I've got a few tricks to share on how to cover up any "mistakes". 

Don't worry, we will fix that later....

Do the same thing for the plain caramel apples.

Place the apples in the fridge to set. I usually allow at least 30 minutes or more.

If you are happy with your apples, great! Leave them be! If you are like me, and not super pleased with the sprinkle placement, never fear! I used chocolate candy coating for this fix! Candy coating melts come in a wide array of colors and I just happened to have green and purple on hand. To use, melt them in the microwave at 30 second intervals until melted. You can add shortening or coconut oil to make it smooth and glossy. I've used booth. Once melted, and pourable, it's time to apply. I use a fork for this, but you can also use a toothpick. Just add the candy coating to your fork or toothpick and drizzle. Back and forth. In a zigzag pattern. Whatever works for you. And turn the apple while doing so. Once you have the amount of candy coating you want, add the sprinkles! And voila! You have the most darling caramel apple with sprinkles! 

How about them apples? The sprinkles add such personality, a lot like Satisfied, Happy, Hangry, and Tears of Joy! And the simplest form, well, it's just pretty. Glossy! And like my mom said, they look good enough to eat. 

How do you like your apples?

XO,

Andrea

P.S. This was a sponsored post, but all opinions expressed are my own.

DIY Fabric Pumpkins

 Do I have the cutest fall DIY for you!! I love pumpkins! We have been to two different patches over the past couple of weekends and I can't stop buying them! We are up to at least 20 on our front porch! It's a little out of control. I wanted to bring the pumpkin look into the house without having so many real ones. You know, rotting, oozing goo, dirt, so I opted for a few small real ones and several foam versions for our newly painted fireplace hearth! I can't get enough of our updated fireplace and all the different ways I can decorate it. And the fabric pumpkins are a perfect addition!

I think I bought out Michael's white pumpkin selection when I was there a couple of weeks ago. They were on sale and I couldn't be stopped. I wanted as many sizes as possible for this DIY, but as it turns out, the small and medium size worked best for my display. However, I have plans for the larger ones left behind. Stay tuned.... 

Here are all the things you need!

Foam pumpkins in any color and size. 

Fabric! Lots of fabric in all the colors you want for your decor. Originally, I thought I wanted to go with black and white for Halloween, then while "shopping" in my mom's sewing room closet, I ran across two different fabrics that were perfect compliments to one another. A small green and cream check cotton and an orange and brown plaid flannel. Love them together! What you do next is cut the fabric into very long strips. I went as wide as 2", but the length depends entirely on how big your pumpkin is. You will cut off the excess underneath and the remainder will be used time and time again to line the entire circumference of your pumpkin. That means you need scissors. 

Hot glue, lots of it, and a medic at the ready! I can't tell you exactly how many times I burned myself on this project, but I can tell you that I burned myself three times in same spot! Martha Stewart wasn't kidding when she said to keep a bowl of ice water beside you for these instances! It's hot! It's right there in the title!

Twine. I decided half way through the project that I didn't like the fake stem and decided to make own. I wrapped twine around the stem, also making sure to cover any raw edges around the top. It cleaned up the whole pumpkin and made a super cute rustic stem! 

So here is how you make it! Grab the pumpkin, the fabric, the glue, and scissors. Start with the glue, make a line along the crease of the pumpkin, and then place the fabric along the glue. Continue to do this all the way around the pumpkin, making sure to overlap the fabric so that none of the pumpkin shows.

Once you have completed this step, it's time to cover all those raw edges. The photos are a little out of sequence as I had finished the green one, making sure I liked how it turned out, before I took detailed step by step pics. I didn't like how the edges were frayed and unclean so I decided to fold the strips of fabric in half down the middle, gluing each side into itself. Make sense?

Here is the new piece that will you place along the raw edges of the fabric.

Like you did the wider strips, run a bead of glue along the frayed edge and place the new folded fabric along the glue line. Do this all around the pumpkin until all the edges are clean.

Ta-Da!!

See the ugly fake stem? Not cute!

Now it is! Just run the glue and the twine all around the stem, making sure to hide the edges of the fabric as well. Like I said, rustic chic, no?

Here is completed version of the orange and brown plaid flannel.

Aren't they a perfect mix with the real? And the colors play off the black hearth so well. I am one happy Mama!

And the great thing is, I didn't really need Halloween pumpkins to play up the Halloween decorations that are already going on along the mantel! Just remove the Halloween and I'm set on November 1st! CUUUTE!!

A super easy DIY that's a little on the time consuming side. But that's okay. I got mine done while watching a Hallmark Channel movie or two! It did take me about two or three days to complete all three so give yourself time for this project. And once you do, you are going to love them!!

XO,

Andrea

Fall Mantel DIY Garland

So, you all know that I just updated my kitchen fireplace and I’m in love!! It turned out so much better than I had hoped. And now I can’t wait to start dressing it up for all the upcoming seasons. However, I don’t have a tradition mantel. You know the kind, a large wooden beam version. Instead, because of the curve of the fireplace, I have a small inlay of bricks that run the perimeter. It’s tiny! But, it does allow for some smaller versions of decor. As a result, I am tasking myself with creating pieces to decorate this fabulous fireplace!

I made my first one this weekend! It’s a fall garland using foam pumpkins, gourds, pine cones, miniature pumpkin ornaments, and twine. I found these bundles of foam fall decor in the bargain bin at Target, my favorite place to find all the cutest seasonal decor!! As soon as I spotted them, I knew exactly how I wanted to use them. I went for both the traditional fall colors of burgundy and orange, but there is something about that mix of greens! A great way to mix colors and provide contrast. 

So, here is what you’ll need. I grabbed two bundles of each mix so any foam pumpkins of your choice, twine by the spool because you can use this for everything, a large sewing needle (I borrowed one from my mom that came in a crochet needle pack), mini pumpkin ornaments (I got mine at Dollar Tree), pliers, something to help with some extra grip, and a beverage! 

Thread your twine just like you would a normal needle and thread. Grab a pumpkin or gourd and start stringing. That’s where the gripper comes in place. These foam pieces are thick and it’s hard to get the needle all the way through. You will need to wrap the gripper around the needle to push through. Don’t use your fingers! The end is just as sharp as the needle point and it hurts to push!! That’s why I grabbed the gripper. Push the needle all the way through, and once the needle appears on the other side, use the pliers to bring the needle all the way through. Do that step repeatedly until you have al the foam pumpkins you want on the garland.

Once I had all the pumpkins and gourds strung, I went back through and filled in with the pine cones and mini ornaments. Disclaimer here: I didn’t know I was going to use the mini ornaments until after I had the pine cones in place. I just felt that the garland needed something extra and these ornaments added an element of shine. Use the string provided with the ornaments to attach. Okay, back to the pine cones. I placed a pine cone after every pumpkin and gourd, equally spaced, throughout the entire garland. If you need a dab of hot glue, use it. Since my garland was going to lay  flat on the mantle, I didn’t use it, but if I were going to drape it across the mantle, it would have been a must! 

 

One last thing I’m hoping to add are mini LED string lights for an iridescent glow. I just haven’t had a chance to run to the craft store and get a set! But they are definitely not needed.

How fun are fall crafts? How fun is crafting? I have some other things up my sleeve for outdoor/indoor and I can’t wait to share those too. Stayed tuned!

Happy Crafting!

XO,

Andrea