Chocolate-Covered Apples

What You Need:

• Apples
• Lollipop sticks (available at crafts stores)
• Bag of caramels (or substitute peanut butter and skip Step 2)
• Chocolate chips
• White chocolate
• Rimmed baking sheet
• Tinfoil
• Cooking spray
• Your choice of toppings: crushed nuts, dried coconut, colored holiday sprinkles
• Clear baker's wrap and ribbons

What You Do:

1. Tell your child to line the baking sheet with tin foil and spray lightly with oil.
2. Help your child unwrap the caramels and melt according to the directions on the bag.
3. Have your child dip the entire apple in the caramel, spreading with a knife if it’s too thick to coat evenly. Set aside on baking sheet to cool and harden.
4. Help your child melt chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every 15 seconds until thoroughly melted. Caution: The bowl may be hot to the touch after repeatedly heating the chocolate, so use oven mitts as a precaution.
5. Tell your child to dip the bottom 3/4 of the apple in the chocolate and set back on the baking sheet.
6. Let cool the apples cool, then drizzle with melted white chocolate.
7. While chocolate is still soft, have your child dip the bottom of apple in your choice of toppings.
8. Let cool thoroughly, then wrap and give!

Helpful Hint: White chocolate melts at a different temperature than brown chocolate. Make sure no water or steam gets into the white chocolate, or it will seize and not melt. To help make the chocolate easier to spread, add ¼ teaspoon of vegetable oil directly into the chips before melting.