Making Time Together over Candy Covered Caramel Apples

Fall has so many amazing flavours to offer. The Hinkle family have their very own apple orchard, hence they are partial to the odd apple or two! Here is a super sugary but super fun way to use up some of those perfectly picked apples.

These mini candy apples are ideal for kids. They can be involved in the preparation, as well as getting their own finished treat (without it being nearly the size of their head)!

Ingredients:

• one bag of Caramel candy (unwrapping them takes ages so get the kids involved in this part too!)
• a few apples (we chose golden delicious but any type will work)
• selection of toppings (we used sour spaghetti, mini M&Ms, Reese's pieces, sour worms, crushed Oreos, and sprinkles)
• some sort of stick (we used plastic baking twigs, but lollipop or kebab sticks would also work)

It really pays off to be well prepared with this activity. The apple can brown quickly and the caramel sets in no time! Here are some simple steps to follow:

1. Set up all of your toppings in cupcake cases in a muffin tin. Be generous with the toppings as there will be plenty of mid-activity snacking!

2. Cut each apple into approximately 8 pieces. Remember that they need to be thick enough to spike with the sticks.

3. Spike the apple slices onto the sticks (depending on the age of the children it may be best for the adult to do this).

4. Put the unwrapped caramel pieces into a microwave safe dish and heat on highest setting for approximately 30 seconds. They may not look like they have melted but give them a quick stir with a spoon to check. They can over cook very quickly!

5. You need to act quickly to help the kids get some caramel onto their apples using spoons before it sets. Be careful though as the caramel might be hot still. I warn you, it won't look particularly pretty, just slop it on there!!

6. Now the fun really starts! Get the kids to add as many toppings as they want to their apple slice. Encourage them to push the toppings into the caramel to help them stick.

7. Now this is definitely the best part..... eat eat eat!!!

If your caramel starts to stiffen up, just pop it back in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften it a little.

Also keep in mind if you have any children with nut allergies. Many of the toppings we used would not be appropriate for nut free environments.

This certainly isn't one of those activities that gives you a beautiful finished product. It's messy, it's sugar-filled, but boy oh boy is it a great way to Make Time Together!

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Creative QT designs quality + innovative toys that declutter homes and inspire creative play. Founded by parents of five, Adam and Dana Sue Hinkle, Creative QT’s vision is to empower parents and encourage a culture of families that Make Time Together. All products are designed to enrich families’ lives through active, creative play and play based learning. Creative QT products are laboratory tested for compliance with CPSC requirements and are free of lead, cadmium and phthalates so you can play with confidence. So, go ahead … today is the day: be your kid’s hero.

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