"Candy Bomb" Caramel Apples

Hi, guys!! I have a pressing concern on my mind today. A question for the ages -- Why do we only eat caramel apples in the fall?! They’re so yummy. The perfect balance of sweet and tart, healthy and …. not healthy. I always forget HOW MUCH I like them until September/October rolls around and I start seeing them all over the craft and food blogosphere and simply MUST have one. You guys, they’re delicious with a capital D. Especially when you roll ‘em in white chocolate and the equivalent of a chopped up full-size candy bar. {Maybe that’s why they are a once-a-year indulgence!} Need a great way to use up your leftover Halloween candy next week? I got you. Make a few of these “Candy Bomb” caramel apples.

The trend this year is caramel apple slices. Those are cute and all, but you’ll need a full apple to hold the quantity of sweet, tasty goodness I’m talkin’ about here. I used Honeycrisp apples because they’re my absolute favorite and I prefer a sweeter apple, but if you like it a little more tart grab a pretty green Granny Smith. I started with small-ish apples because we’re going to add several layers of good stuff to these bad boys.

Insert a stick into the top of your apple.  I wanted a more rustic look, so instead of popsicle sticks I grabbed some thin tree branches from my back yard, scrubbed them clean and microwaved on High for about 2 minutes to dry them out. Using a  Swiss Army knife, whittle the tips into points so they go in the apple without a fight. 

To prepare for dipping, roughly chop your candy bars. I used one full-size bar for each apple. If you are using fun-size bars you will need 3-4 per apple, I’m guessing. Place the candy into small bowls and set aside for later. 

Next, follow the melting directions on the back of the bag of Caramel bits. I like to use the bits {found on the baking aisle next to the chocolate chips} so I don’t have to unwrap a million individual caramels. Last, melt a bag of white chocolate chips in a separate microwave-safe bowl and get ready to make some magic happen.

Lay out a sheet of wax paper to rest apples on in between dips. Give each apple a good dunk in the warm melted caramel, shaking off the excess, and set on the wax paper to set up a little bit. Because I wanted mine extra gooey, I went for a second dip of caramel before adding toppings. You could skip the double-dip, but I highly recommend it!

Your next layer will either be white chocolate or candy depending on how you want your finished apple to look. For a few of mine, I dipped the whole apple into white chocolate then sprinkled the candy evenly over the top and around the sides. Finish it off with a light drizzle of more white chocolate or caramel – or both. The Twix apple shown above was done this way.

For the others, I sprinkled the candy directly over the warm, sticky caramel. Sprinkled is probably too gentle of a word for this process – I dumped on as much candy bar as I could get each apple to hold, pressing it gently into the caramel so it would really stick. That’s why we call ‘em “Candy Bomb caramel apples, after all. Finish them off with a heavy-handed drizzle of the white chocolate.

Once each apple is dipped, dumped, and drizzled to your heart’s content, allow them to set up on the wax paper. The caramel and white chocolate set up pretty quickly, so you won’t have to wait too long, I promise. We tried Snickers, Butterfinger, Heath, and Twix on our apples and they were each my favorite!! My boys may have even called me “The BEST mom EVER” while scarfing down their apples. 

If you can manage to keep them away from your teenagers, they would make awesome fall treats for your besties. Just tie a little bow around the stick and place on a cute paper plate and become “The BEST neighbor/friend EVER”.

Do you have a favorite treat or indulgence that you save for a particular season? If you try these and you might have a new one!

Happy Halloween, friends!

Amy

No-Sew Trick or Treat Bag on Lolly Jane

Hi guys!  Halloween is just around the corner, and I'm super excited. I may have mentioned (*once or twice*) that I LOVE Halloween.  Do you have your costumes all ready to go?  How about bags for trick or treating?  I got you covered on that front!!

I found these adorable shopping tote bags while I was grocery shopping a few weeks ago and I immediately knew they were destined to hold so much more than groceries!!  Those black and white polka dots are just too stinkin' cute.  In a matter of minutes you can create super-cute NO-SEW trick or treat bags for all your kiddos!  I'm sharing the simple tutorial over at Lolly Jane so you can make your own.

P.S. Did you know you can print on fabric with your little old ink jet printer at home?!  It's EASY and opens up a whole new world of crafting fun for you.  Get all the deets along with the trick or treat bag tutorial!

Poe-Inspired Raven Halloween Decor

Hi guys! Happy fall, FINALLY.  I am thrilled that October is finally here. I lu-uh-uhhhhve Halloween.  Have I mentioned that before?  Like, only every year, I know.  I'm an October baby, so Halloween always felt like a second birthday for me. I prefer cute Halloween decor to creepy, gory, yucky.  I'm also obsessed with black, white and gold for Halloween decor this year, so I wanted to create something new along those lines. 

This little Poe-inspired felt raven fit the bill perfectly! I just love the way he looks perched on my coffee table next to my vintage-looking spell books and my gilded mini pumpkins.  You may have noticed this cute little raven tucked in on one of the shelves of my Witch's Bakery for Trunk-or-Treat last week, too.  You can easily create this little guy in under an hour, even if you aren't much of a sew-er.  It's beginner-level easy! 

I used a blanket stitch to hand sew all the edges, but you could whipstitch it or sew it however you are most comfortable.  Don't worry about your stitches being perfect.  If you use black thread on black felt, you can barely even see them at all.  I think you could probably even use fabric glue or hot glue if you are really opposed to sewing!

I'm just going to share some very basic steps here to give you an idea of how this project is made.  The pattern download has a very detailed set of step-by-step instructions with photos that you can follow. 

You will need:

Printable pattern and instructions
1 piece of black felt (approx. 9 x 12 inches)
coordinating thread and needle
fiber-fill stuffing
2 small black buttons
Twill tape (approx. 5/8 inch wide by 6 inches long)
small alphabet stamps and ink pad or fine tip black marker
candlestick
hot glue
scissors

Begin by cutting the pattern pieces out of your felt sheet.  Next you'll stitch the head piece to the body pieces using a blanket stitch.  Then you'll attach the belly piece to one side of the body in the same way.  (I promise, there are more detailed instructions in the pattern that make this all make sense!)

Stitch the body pieces together around the end of the tail, leaving a part of the belly open for stuffing.  Fill your bird with fiber-fill stuffing, using a pencil or other pointed object to get it down into the beak and tail.  Once the bird is stuffed as much as you like, stitch the opening closed and attach the wing and tail feathers.

To finish up, use small alphabet stamps or a black marker to add a message to the twill tape that will be in the bird's mouth.  I chose the Poe-inspired "nevermore".  Be sure to stamp your message a little off center of the length of twill tape or part of it will be hidden by the bird's beak.  Feed the ribbon through the slits in the beak shown on the pattern.  Paint and distress your candlestick, if desired, then use hot glue to perch the raven right on top of it.

I'm kinda' in love with the way this little guy turned out!  He'll be the perfect addition to my Halloween decor.  I might even make a couple more on candlesticks of different lengths to create a little vignette on the top of my piano, too.  

If you like this project, you may also like: 

Halloween Spell Book Printable

Fanta Floats and Oreo Straws

Easy Decorative Pumpkin Ideas

Trunk-or-Treat Decorating Idea: Winking Witch's Tricks & Treats Halloween Bakery

Hi guys!!  I am SUPER excited that October is finally here.  My birthday is just about a week away and then . . . Halloween is right around the corner!!  Every year our church has a Trunk-or Treat party for all the kiddos.  We always try to think of something fun and "out of the box" to do.  Sometimes it is as simple as handing out Otter Pops instead of candy -- which was a HUGE hit -- but I have had a fun idea floating in the back of mind for a while and this year we plan to bring it to life.  We are going to host "The Winking Witch's Tricks and Treats" -- a Halloween pop-up tailgate bakery for all the little witches and goblins {and their parents} to enjoy.

It all started with the million fun and simple Halloween treat ideas I was seeing all over the internet.  I wanted to try all those adorable spooky treat ideas people were coming up with, but come on -- there are only four of us here at home.  That's a whole lotta' sugar by anybody's standards.  I chose a few ideas I was most excited to try {and give them my own twist} and created this fun menu board.  We had a blast as a family coming up with treat names and descriptions.  

I tried to stick with easy recipes and semi-homemade ideas as much as possible since I knew I needed about 200 goodies to hand out.  That could turn into a lot of hours in the kitchen if you're not careful!   Pre-made treats, doctored up just a little, are A-OK with me.  Sticking Vampire fangs in the center of a glazed donut is quick and easy -- just like I like it. When my boys saw all the treats put together, these Demented Donuts were their favorite.

 I found cute napkins for the Trunk-or-Treaters who want to enjoy their donuts right away, but we also have cute bags for the ones who want to wrap them up and save 'em for later.

Ghost Poop is another no-brainer, easy treat.  Just bag up some mini-marshmallows and slap a sticker label on the front. Boom!  Done!  

I personally love these Mummy Cookie Pops -- a variation of this treat I made last Halloween.  This year I used melted white chocolate instead of frosting because I felt like it would hold up better.  I just think they're so stinkin' cute with their little orange stripe ribbons!

We made several varieties of cake pops for our Halloween Bakery.  Cake Pops are pretty simple to make and decorate so you can whip up a bunch in not a lot of time.  They are also perfect for Trunk-or-Treat because they are bite-sized and you can decorate them in a million different ways.   Those forked eyeballs make me giggle every time!

Every proper Witch's Bakery needs a warning sign to keep guests on their best behavior, right?  I decided to add another hanging basket to my stand full of mini-pies, just in case they think I'm not serious!!

For my bakery counter I used two small tables we had in our house.  I wanted to stick with a mainly black and white color scheme with just a few pops of color here and there.  We placed a few of our favorite Halloween decorations on the lower shelves and were good to go!

You can download all my printables here to create your own Winking Witch's Tricks & Treats tailgate bakery this Halloween.  I'll share my favorite cake pop recipe and some tips for making them here on the blog soon.  

Happy Halloween, friends!

Amy