Halloween Caramel Apples

Tee Hee Hee,

Beulah has a terrible sweet tooth!

Maybe that is why she is near toothless!

Or maybe she lost a few biting into

caramel apples!

Making caramel apples is always a fall

tradition here, so this year Beualah and I made

these Wicked Apples in purple and green!

(To match her face?)

Yikes - scary enough to eat!!

Of course, we had to make some other

varieties, like this Apple Pie caramel apple,

topped with cinnamon sugar,

and this Black and White Chocolate 

Caramel Apple. 

After dipping the apples in caramel, and

letting them cool, I piped on melted candy

discs, using a number 3 piping tip.

To make the cinnamon sugar apple,

sprinkle the sugar mix on right away

after piping the white chocolate.

These were some I made a few years ago.  They 

take a little longer, but were so fun! Click here

to see that post.

There are so many fun options and we

had others too, but these were the ones that

didn't get grabbed and taken or eaten right away.

For the recipe for easy homemade caramel

apples click here.

Little cutie cried and cried until she got

one of the Wicked Apples!!  You can

tell she was attracted to the purple and

green - none of the others would do!!!!

Eating My Way Through Disneyland - Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday and my daughter and I

who are known in our family as the 

"Disneyland Psychos"

spent the last half of last week at Disneyland for our

birthdays.  We are called that because we speed walk

from ride to ride and go as early as we can to as 

late as we can.  (We do take time to go back to 

the hotel and nap during the late afternoon though.)

For about 5 years now we kept saying we wanted to

go to Disneyland and see the Christmas decorations

but we haven't been able to make it.  Her friend told 

her that they keep the decorations up the week after

New Years, so this year on a whim we made reservations

and went. This was an adults only trip and really fun.

Of course it made it even better that it was 82 degrees

while it was snowing at home!

The decorations are just wonderful there at this time of year.

This was the perfect birthday celebration for me!

Some people complain about park food, but Disney has

done a wonderful job of improving the quality of their

food and it is a big part of the experience for us

We have our list of the foods we must eat.  (I have to

tell you before you see all of the food that we shared

everything as portions are really big!)

One of the big ones is the Dole Pineapple Float

right by the Tiki Room.  You may have seen it 

on Pinterest.  I believe in the power of Pinterest

because I have never seen such lines for this light

and delicious pineapple frozen treat in pineapple juice.

I counted 75 people in line one night.

We also "HAVE" to have the beignets in

Downtown Disney at the Jazz Kitchen - amazingly

soft freshly made donuts tossed in powdered

sugar in a bag.  I gave you instructions

on how to make some exactly like theirs here.

This year we found Mickey beignets at

the park in New Orleans Square, but they 

were a disappointment, dry and thin.  Maybe 

it was an off day for them.

My daughter gave me my birthday present

early by treating me to lunch at The Blue Bayou

where I had to indulge 

in the Monte Cristo Sandwich.

The lighting in there is dark and wonderful with

the river from Pirates of the Caribbean flowing

by and fireflies in the trees so the pictures

are pretty dark. This is definitely the priciest

restaurant on the property but a fun special 

occasion place.

We also have to eat the beef and chicken

skewers at Bengal BBQ and Grill. 

 Their

bacon wrapped asparagus is fabulous too.

We had the chili in a sourdough bread bowl

over in California Adventure at the Pacific Warf. 

 You can watch

them make the sourdough bread fresh and then

sup on a delicious bread bowl with soup or salad.

You can't get fresher, softer bread.

Jolly Holiday 

at the end of Main Street (from Mary Poppins)

just opened this last week with fresh pastries to grab as

you enter the park.  I got a croissant to dip in their

creamy delicious hot chocolate.

We stayed at the recently remodeled 

Disneyland Hotel.  

The fiber optic lit carving above the bed was just

magical and the bedding was so beautiful.  The

light below softly played "A Dream Is A Wish

Your Heart Makes" and the pillows on the bed

repeated that with one saying, "A Dream Is A Wish

Your Heart Makes" and the other saying, "When

You're Fast Asleep".  

The room was just

magical with Mickey appearing in the beautiful

carpet too.

The crowds were still crazy the week after

New Years but we got to go in the park early

two of the mornings and then we were able to

ride a ton of rides and get a lot of fast passes

that we could use later in the evening as it got

busy.  

Did you know that there are apps for your smart phones
that give you very accurate wait times so that you
can decide if you want to walk to that ride?  My DIL
told me about it and it was amazing to be able to see
that this ride had 10 minutes wait time and another
had 45 minutes wait time, so I could make a choice
without walking all across the park to see.  Check
out the app Mouse Wait.  It had both parks - it
was wonderful.

It was definitely a treat to see them light the

Sleeping Beauty's Castle
at night and enjoy the holiday

fireworks which they had ever night.

This year we went to the World of Color for

the first time.  My daughter had read online that you

could buy a picnic lunch for $15 and then you 

would receive priority standing room.  

The lunch was terrible - really the only yucky

food I had at Disneyland - just give me a ham 

sandwich as one of the options for a picnic

lunch - but it was worth it to be on the

front row right down by the water.  It was

a spectacular show.

This beautiful Belle Caramel Apple was 

something I hadn't seen before

 and of course we had to get a Minnie.

I carefully hand carried these home to share

on Sunday for my birthday dinner.

I didn't get a chance to go to Disneyland until

I was an adult in college and it has been 

a love affair ever since.  I am awed by the details

and the magic that goes into everything.  Just look

at those magical caramel apples.

Disneyland

To all who come to this happy place

WELCOME

Disneyland is your land.

Here age relives fond memories

of the past and here youth may savor

the challenge and promise of the future.

Disneyland is dedicated

to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard

facts that have created America... with the

hope that it will be a source of joy 

and inspiration to all the world.

July 17, 1955

I hope you enjoyed celebrating my birthday

with me.  I believe in celebrating my birthday,

birthweek and birthmonth.  I am glad for

each birthday, I think each one is a gift and

I hope you do too.

Spider Webbed Caramel Apples

Caramel Apples have been a 

Purple Chocolat Home tradition for

ages now.

Click here to see my

 "Mrs. Jacqueline'sGourmet Caramel Apples"

  that I dipped

last year and to get the recipe for my

easy homemade caramel.  Once you have

tried this easy recipe, you will never spend

your time unwrapping those other caramels!

Last year I made them before Beaulah

came out of her box, so this year she thought she

would get in on the fun and make them a little

spookier.

Just dip your apples completely covering

the entire apple.  Place the covered apple on

a well buttered piece of foil so it won't stick

to the foil.  Let it cool completely so that the

chocolate won't slide off the warm caramel.

We chose to cut a twig off the apple tree

for our "stem".

Place your apple on an upturned

glass that you have buttered the bottom of

(so your beautiful creation won't end

up stuck to the glass.)

Now pipe chocolate on using the smallest

tip and starting with  the vertical lines.

We started by

dividing the apple into quarters and then

smaller until you have 12 - 16 vertical

lines.  

It gets a little tricky as the apple curves

under toward the bottom.  You may want to

start from the bottom and connect halfway up.

Pipe the horizontal lines, turning the glass as you

go.  Don't worry if it doesn't seem perfect, ours

certainly were not.  When you are finished you

won't notice the flaws.

Great way to add some

Halloween drama to your

seasonal caramel apples.

(We actually went out with two of the grandkids

and braved the

rain and a little snow today to pick these

off the tree.   The snow actually came halfway

down the mountain!  Too early for my blood.)

If you didn't read my post from 

last year, tie CDs on your apple trees to keep

the birds from eating into every apple.  

They still munch on the ones that fall on

the ground.

  It works like a charm!

(Beaulah thought she would look

charming in sepia to match the 

color of the chocolate on the apples.)

Beaulah and I will be posting this with

These Chicks Cooked

Wow Us Wednesday

Fall In Love

Weekend Wrapup

Foodie Friday

Sweets For A Saturday

Seasonal Sunday

Wickedly Creative Halloween Party

Monster Mash

Visually Inspiring Projects

Mrs. Jacqueline's Gourmet Caramel Apples

The apples are ripening and it is time to make

something fun with the them.

We have a wonderful apple tree.  I thought it was a

Jonagold.

 It was advertised as

self-pollinating so that works for us since

it is our only apple tree.  Last year we had a small

crop but they were huge.

Notice the gorgeous pink blush.

I picked these last year.  There was only one problem,

this was the "good" side.  The back sides were all

munched on by the birds.

     We like to call  "things like this the

backside of

    Disneyland" where you see what is behind the beauty!

    I don't mind sharing some, but of that whole tree,

          only one had been left untouched.

Notice anything new hanging in the tree?

I read on-line that if you hang CDs from the branches

the twirling reflection would scare the birds

away.  Guess what?  It worked.  I have a beautiful

crop this year and none have been eaten by the

birds.

You all have seen Mrs. .......Gourmet Caramel apples

that go for around $20 each.  Here you can

make your own for under $1 each.

I like an apple that is sweet and tart like a Jonathan

or Jonagold to dip in caramel rather than one that is

 just tart like a Granny Smith.

Caramel Apple Recipe

1 C. melted butter

1 C. light Karo corn syrup

2 C. packed brown sugar

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

9 - 12 apples, washed and dried (depends on

the size of the apples)

candy or popsicle sticks

melted chocolate

sprinkles

nuts

candies

Wash and dry the apples and insert sticks.

Mix, the melted butter, corn syrup,

brown sugar and sweetened condensed milk

in a heavy saucepan.  Bring it to a boil

on medium high - it scorches easily -

and turn to medium or medium low,

stirring the bottom constantly

being careful not to scorch it. 

Let the temperature reach 245 degrees (at sea level) so if

you live in the mountains as I do you need to see where your

thermometer reaches a rolling boil for water - 212 degrees

at sea level.  Today I tested my thermometer and it

boiled at 200 so I would subtract 12 from 245 and

cook it to 233.

Pull off heat and add 1 tsp. vanilla.

Dip in caramel and place on a greased piece

of tin foil.  Let cool then dip in desired chocolate.

I like to let the chocolate harden and drizzle with

additional colors of chocolate and add chopped

candies.

Pour out any leftover caramel onto a heavily

buttered piece of foil for shaping

into caramels or just eating.

Placing the stick into the washed and dried

apples fresh off the tree today.

Be careful with the hot caramel.  My little grandson

tried some off the spoon too quickly and got

a little burn today.

Cure for burns - put milk on a piece of paper

towel and hold it on there a few minutes.

The vitamin D in the milk takes the burn

away.  We have even done this on a

severely burned hand - keep rewetting the

towel in milk - works for sunburn too if

you do it as soon as you come in - apply milk

and let it dry then apply lotion (so you don't smell).

(Enough of Jacqueline's home remedies!)

Butter the foil heavily or it will stick.

Be sure to let the caramel cool completely or the

chocolate will just slide off of it.

Now let the chocolate layer cool completely by

placing it in the fridge before

drizzling any additional chocolate.

Be sure the additional chocolate or white

chocolate isn't too warm as it will slide

off too.  (...by experience.)

This one was dipped in milk chocolate then

drizzled in white and milk with Reeses Pieces

on top.  Let the drizzled chocolate cool then

use additional chocolate to glue on the candy.

The one in the far back was drizzled in

white chocolate then sprinkled

with cinnamon sugar.

This one we dipped in milk chocolate and drizzled

with dark and white chocolate.

This one has Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

sprinkled on top of the milk chocolate.

That sweet/salty taste was wonderful.

A little goes a long ways.

Click here for printable recipe.

We love to let people make their own.  We

have also done service projects where the

youth made one to keep and one to give

away to a family in need.

Have fun making up your own varieties. 

Lots of love,

Jacqueline

I love hearing your comments, they truly make my day!

I will be posting this with

Foodie Friday,

Friday Favorites,

Feature Yourself Friday,

Pink Saturday,

and

Seasonal Sundays.

Visit Marsha at Splenderosa.  She is giving away two

fabulous crystal cuff bracelets.  Help her reach 300

followers.  If you aren't into bling (I definitely am),

these would still be great for holiday gifts.