Butterfinger Caramel Apple Bites!

Who says caramel apples are just for October!? I say they work all through the fall, and even into Christmas! As a kid, my family often had Christmas at my Aunt's house in Salt lake City. There they have a wonderful chocolate shop known as Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and they just so happen to have the most delicious carameled apples. We got one each year in our stockings! This recipe tastes just like them, but I've improved them by making them bite size! Now you get more caramel and sugary goodness in each bite! I won't lie and say this caramel recipe is easy. In fact it's super finicky, but if you can get it to the perfect "soft ball" stage, then the battle has been won! You might want to find a friend to help you, my husband and I always make caramel together. There is a lot of stirring involved and we usually switch off. The labor of love is totally worth it though, this is the BEST caramel recipe I've ever tried!

Just a warning, if you choose to make these "bite size" you will want to make them the same day you plan on eating them. After making these for the first time I was upset to find the next morning that the caramel had dripped off all the bite size pieces. It takes quite a few hours, but the apple's juices will eventually break down the caramel into a liquid and then it's all over. If you want to make these in advance I would suggest dipping the apples whole.

As prep work you will want to lay out a good layer of powdered sugar over a big piece of wax paper.

I used a sieve to make the layer more even.

In a big suacepan add:

1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Cup White Sugar

1/2 Cup Karo Light Corn Syrup

I also prepare a bowl of cold water to test for the soft ball stage.

Cook these ingredients on MEDIUM heat stirring CONSTANTLY with a WOODEN SPOON. (Yes all of those are very important!)

If it is cooking too fast, you can turn the heat down a smidge.

Stir, stir, stir. LOTS of stirring!

Once you get the mixture to a soft ball stage remove from the heat and add 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract.

This is what it looked like before I added the vanilla.

Here is a very short video on how to recognize the soft ball stage.

Quickly cut the apples into bite sized pieces, insert a toothpick and dip into the caramel!

Place on the powdered sugar/ wax paper.

Place all of the apples in the fridge to quickly let the caramel set.

While the apples are setting in the fridge, melt some white chocolate in a bowl. Also chop up a few Butterfinger Bars. (I only cut up and usd 2 apples and 2 Butterfingers was more than enough!)

Dip the caramled apple bites into melted white chocolate and then quickly into the chopped candy pieces.

Set on wax paper.

Yes these were as delicious as they looked!

I tried to fancy them up a bit with a chocolate and white chocolate drizzle. I don't know how I feel about it. lol. But, it was SOOO good! Maybe I just need to work on my "drizzling" skills.