Sometimes, when I’m really bored, I mentally prepare my last meal.

It’s a weird habit of mine, but being Italian, I tend to think of food more than it’s probably recommended, and going through all my favorite dishes in my head is pure heaven—especially when I exist mostly on sandwiches and coffee in real life.

One of the things that will most definitely appear at my last meal are caramel apples.

Now that it’s fall, I walk past the (ridiculously expensive) Farmer’s Market and see them all the time, glistening in their plastic wrapped and ribboned packages.

If you enjoy turning something healthy into something deliriously sugar-packed as much as I do and you’re looking for a fun activity for a dreary Fall day, here’s a fool proof recipe guaranteed to make you the most popular kid on your hall.

The Goodies:
12 Granny Smith (or Macintosh) apples
12 lollipop sticks
1 pound Caramel
Saran Wrap
Melted dark, white or milk chocolate
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup M&M’s or favorite candy topping (or more if you’re like me and can never have too much chocolate)
Waxed paper

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Signs that Halloween is just around the corner: the local seasonal costume shop’s sign goes up, Starbucks brings back it’s extremely addicting Pumpkin Spice Latte and Frappuccino, and the caramel and candy apples start appearing at the grocery stores. Not to mention the rows upon rows of candy bags with their fall packaging. But back to the important thing: the candy apples.

The important thing about candy apples (to me anyway) is that the crunchy coating your parents wouldn’t let you eat because of the cavity potential has to have some flavor. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love sugar. I am addicted. And rarely am I picky about how it’s done. But to me, apples coated in a plain crunchy sugar coating just doesn’t have that wow factor that I expect from Halloween and carnival themed goodies. My favorite candy apples are those with sweet cinnamon coating that’s so crunchy when you cut a piece off or bite into it, you inevitably end up with crispy little candy bits on your lap. The kind that would stick your teeth together and give your mum nightmares when you were a kid. Yeah…that kind.

Anyway, in an effort to be able to give myself and my friends this crazy addictive food all year round, I hunted down a recipe. A lot of them called for cinnamon oil, which is just silly to me. I can’t munch on cinnamon oil the same way I can little candies. I like the following because the apples get their nice red color from the cinnamon red hot candies, and also a wicked great flavor. To me, this is the perfect candy apple. Read More »

I have always had this intense passion for baking. I’m not sure how much of it was the romantic sense of making something great looking and great tasting and feeling the accomplishment that came along with it, and how much was just plain old having the ability to scrounge around and make something from practically nothing to satisfy my raving sweet tooth.

One thing I had never really delved into was pie baking. Brownies, cookies, cakes — I loved them all and I could bake them fairly well. But pies…if it wasn’t refrigerated, I hadn’t tried it. And then I had a craving for apple pie.

My fiance being the loyal supporter he is, accompanied me to the store and watched me stare at the shelves trying to figure out what looked yummy. I’ve never been one for cooking apples (sometimes I have an issue cutting them uniformly) and since this was my first foray into pie-world, I didn’t want to risk screwing up the um, very essential filling. So, without an official recipe, and without really knowing what I was doing I came up with the following plan. No, it isn’t good for you, but it’s darn tasty with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream.

You will need the following: Read More »

We’ve still got a few weeks of summer left, which means there are some BBQ’s and potlucks to be had and everyone loves someone who can bring a good dessert. I discovered this brownie recipe a few months ago and have since made it for several occasions and it blows people away every time. They’re a bit more work than the standard Duncan Hines boxed batters, but if you or anyone you know is a fan of chocolate and caramel, putting a little work into these babies will be well worth it.

INGREDIENTS

* 14 ounces caramels

* 1/2 cup evaporated milk

* 1 package German chocolate cake mix Read More »