Mini Caramel Apple Bites

I will never ever reveal how many of these Ryan and I ate in one day. In one afternoon.

Okay. In one hour.

My Mom's green thumb has spread like wildfire throughout her beautiful backyard. I had my wedding reception back there for crying out loud. It's a peaceful haven, and perfectly serene. Fall is when I believe it's in it's full glory - and in full production (not that it doesn't look gorgeous in the other seasons). She has quite the set of trees lovingly growing on both sides of the backyard: cherry, plum, pear, peach, and most importantly... apple! Last week my Mom sent me home with a sack full of these delightfully green apples from one of the said trees.

To be honest, (and to switch gears a bit) I can't eat green apples plain. I've tried. I gag. It's a tragedy because they taste delicious. Unfortunately, green apples play the devil's tune to my taste buds, and I can't keep them down. Why the heck was I so excited for these green apples, then?

Green apples taste good in things. Simple as that.

They taste wonderful in gooey pies, fluffy warm muffins, with fresh peanut butter, creamy nutella, crispy salads, decadent desserts, oh - and smothered in rich caramel (only to be dunked in any topping you can possibly dream up).

Needless to say, these caramel apples owned us this week.

Mini Caramel Apple Bites 

Ingredients:
Green Apples
Caramels (smashed in small pieces for easier melting)
Toppings (I used roasted peanuts and sprinkles - fyi: colored sprinkles will melt and change colors . Stick with white or thick sprinkles. Personally, we thought the nut-covered green apples were by far the best. Next time we're going to just dunk them various kinds of nuts.)
Melon Baller
Toothpicks
Parchment Paper

Directions
1. Melt your caramel in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stirring occasionally. Do not let it burn. Turn down heat if necessary.
2. Pour toppings into separate bowls for dipping. Lay out a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
3. With your melon baller, scoop out little spheres of apple and insert a toothpick into the green part of each apple ball.
4. Dab moisture off apple ball as much as possible - this helps the caramel stick better. The more moisture, the trickier it will be to get the caramel to stick.
5. Dip ball into warm caramel, carefully dabbing off any extra caramel. Immediately dip into toppings and place on parchment paper.
6. When finished dipping, place cookie sheet in fridge or freezer to harden. Devour!