Crisp, cool days; trees ablaze with orange, red and yellow; the rhythmic sounds of high school marching bands practicing in the distance: Fall. Autumn if you are feeling fancy. Time to finally pull out your sweaters (or tank tops, it’s Michigan after all). Pumpkins tend to take center stage at this time of year in all that is spicy and sweet, but for me fall is apples (and college football, but that is for another post). Honey crisp, Gala, Pink Lady-fresh, delicious straight from the orchard. When you bite into one and taste the sweet and tart flavors, you know it is fall. Then there is cider, freshly pressed and the perfect accompaniment to cider mill donuts-hot, sugary bites of heaven!

Are you with me?

After a trip to your favorite apple orchard, cider mill or more likely your local Randazzo’s fruit market, what better thing to do than take your nutritious, healthy apples and turn them into decadent caramel apples! I have always loved and hated caramel apples. Delicious, yes, but a challenge to eat. I would just like to say that when I am eating, I’m not looking for a challenge. Thanks to Pinterest and blogger DomesticallyBlissful.com , there is a perfectly elegant solution: caramel apple slices! They are fun, pretty and so easy to eat. The best part is that you can customize the toppings to your liking and change it up to fit any taste or occasion. To avoid the potential Pinterest fail (we have all been there), here is the link http://pin.it/th9EnOT for tips and tricks in order to ensure success.
Enjoy, have fun and put on a sweater, its cold out – oh wait – nope warm again!

Caramel Apple Slices

Ingredients
Apples
Melting chocolate
White or wooden lollipop/popsicle sticks
Caramel bits
Toppings – optional, but are they really?

Instructions
1. Wash and slice apples into about ½ to ¾ inch slices and remove seeds. Make a small slit at the bottom of each slice to insert stick and pat apple slices dry. Now pat them again, ok, one more time!
2. Cover each apple slice in melted chocolate and place them on a piece of wax paper to dry. Allowing some chocolate to drip on the base of the apple by the stick acts as a “glue” (and it’s extra chocolate so win-win).
3. Drizzle melted, slightly cooled caramel bits on your apple slices being careful not to melt off the chocolate coating. At this point, you can drizzle on more chocolate and add toppings like nuts, candy, or sprinkles. The sky is the limit!
4. Let harden and enjoy!