With Halloween soon upon us, I’m in the kitchen cooking up some tricky treats. Like these Black Magic Caramel Apples inspired by Dixie Crystals.

Muahahahahahahahahah *coughcough* Halloween is right around the corner! Can ya tell I’m super excited!? I love Halloween. It’s my third favorite holiday. It’s birthday, Christmas, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, then the rest depending on my mood.

Now, every kid loves Halloween. I mean, who wouldn’t! You get to dress up and people give you candy for it. Hello? But since I was 4, I’ve LOVED Halloween. I remember the exact moment I was hooked, too.

Our family was haunted. I see you, you disbelievers.

But imagine young little 4-year-old AKHA had a paranormal experience that changed her life. Young little AKHA was not quite in school yet on this cold winter day. Mom said, “Go upstairs and put your slippers on!” So, I went upstairs to get my slippers.

Since I knew exactly where they were, and I couldn’t reach the light switch, I went into the dark room to fetch my slippers. When I bent over to pick up the slippers, the door that we had never been able to open since we moved in started to jiggle and shake. I could see the doorknob try to turn and open. I BOLTED!

This started the antics of Mr. Ghosty Bosty; as we liked to call him.

Mr. Ghosty Bosty turned lights on and off, hid items, walked the house in the wee hours of the night, and just watched and lived with our family for many years. I know. You disbelievers are shaking your head and think I’m making it up. But, you weren’t that 4-year-old AKHA fetching slippers on a cold winter morning and you didn’t live with the experiences that none of us could explain.

So, ever since that day, I have loved Halloween. But, there’s another reason I love Halloween so much. Picture this, 5-year-old AKHA dressed as a genie; ya know, like the I Dream of Genie genie? I won a box of candy for that costume. Well, Mom made the costume, but you know how that goes. It was getting time to leave and I went to gather my prize and my coat when all of a sudden, this commotion started a few rooms away.

A witch! There was a witch!

She was cackling and had a broom and these green warts on her face. And she nabbed my sister! But, wait a minute. I know that cackle. I know that voice! That’s my mother! My mother dressed up as a witch; complete with green makeup and bread warts. My sister, on the other hand, did not recognize Mom and started freaking out when my mother dragged her out of the church. But not 5-year-old little AKHA; she just laughed.

And that, dear readers, is why I love Halloween.

I also love pushing my boundaries and make something I’ve never made before; like caramel. No, I’ve never made caramel before now. I’ve never made anything but a smoothie with caramel flavored sundae syrup. I know. I’m a total blogger slacker. Everyone should, at one point in their time, make caramel apples from scratch. So, when Sunday Supper paired with Dixie Crystals for this Halloween event, I couldn’t WAIT to make these Black Magic Caramel Apples.

What are black magic caramel apples? They’re rich and delicious caramel apples with a spell on them to make them black, rich, and delicious. K. I can’t lie. They’re caramel apples dyed black with gel food dye. Yeah. I sucked at surprises, too. And I’m no good at telling jokes or playing pranks.

But, I am good at HALLOWEEN!

I love all the spooky, haunted fun that is involved with Halloween!! I love dressing up, all the food, all the spooks and haunts, and especially the sweets made with >Dixie Sugar. Like these Black Magic Caramel Apples that are sweet and tart at the same time coated with rich sticky caramel.

I must confess that I was bit nervous about making caramel. It was on the third try that I got it right. Honestly, it should have been the second try, but I was trying to do two things at once and that never bodes well for caramel. Consequently, it really does require your attention. Not constant, but it does take stirring this particular caramel recipe every few minutes, having patience, and trusting that chemistry is magic but does take time. If you can achieve all of these, then you can easily whip up a batch of caramel apples any given Sunday or Halloween.

Dixie Crystals was gracious enough to send me tons of sugar, so be rest assured that I see more Black Magic Caramel Apples and other delicious sweet treats in my near future. For this, I have followed them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+. I hope you follow them, too, to see all the delicious products and recipes they’re cooking up this Halloween season.

Black Magic Carmel Apples

Name: Black Magic Carmel Apples
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 2 cups granulated sugar; 1 cup dark corn syrup; 1 cup butter; 14 ounces sweetened, condensed milk; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 tablespoon sorghum; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 16 small apples (about 2 to 3 inches in diameter); 16 popsicle or lollipop sticks

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

With Halloween soon upon us, I’m in the kitchen cooking up some tricky treats. Like these Black Magic Caramel Apples inspired by Dixie Crystals.

Ingredients

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup butter
14 ounces sweetened, condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sorghum
1/2 teaspoon salt
16 small apples (about 2 to 3 inches in diameter)
16 popsicle or lollipop sticks

Instructions

Combine the first eight ingredients (sugar through salt) in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook, stirring frequently (every 1 to 2 minutes) until a candy thermometer reaches 248 which is the firm ball stage; approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Do not be concerned if your thermometer stalls around the 230 to 235 stage. While it appears that nothing much is happen, chemistry is happening.
Remove the caramel from the heat and allow to cool to around 220. While the caramel is cooling, insert a stick into the center of each apple and cover a sheet pan with parchment paper coated generously with cooking spray.
Carefully dip each apple into caramel mixture; turning to coat. At this point, you can place the apples on the parchment paper and allow them cool completely or sprinkle them with nuts, sprinkles, or other edible decorations before cooling completely.