kid-sized caramel apples...

Mini-Caramel Apples

Jen's Rating- 3 out of 5 stars ***

Total Prep-Time- 2 minutes (plus remembering to buy caramel sheets at the store)

Total Activity Time- 15-20 minutes

Total Clean-Up Time- 5 minutes (plus several reminders for the kids to BRUSH really good)

We made mini-caramel apples using Granny Smith apples, a small cookie scoop, caramel sheets (from Wal-Mart) and Halloween Jimmies. I saw this idea at Little Birdie Secrets, and they got the idea from Family Fun Magazine.

Each kid got a different color toothpick, 4 apple pieces, one caramel sheet cut into 4 squares, and we shared the bowl of sprinkles. Wrap the apple with caramel, stick it with a toothpick, dip it in sprinkles, take a picture and eat them!!

Good Things- easy preparation... inexpensive... yummy and small so there wasn't a lot of waste or a lot of sugar (plus, they were easy to eat-- way easier than big caramel apples and the kids actually eat the apple not just bite off the caramel)... even though the apple pieces weren't totally round you couldn't tell once the caramel was on... very quick clean up... anything is good with sprinkles... did i say EASY!!?

Not so Good Things- if you handled the caramel too long it turned into a sticky mess and would not stick on the apples... if you licked your fingers the caramel got wet and would not stick on the apples-- this caused minor trauma for the kiddos... and, we left a plate for Todd to eat when he got home, but the caramel all melted off the apples as they were sitting... you definitely have to eat them right away...

If you're going to do caramel apples, this is a great way to involve kids without the mess.

I'll do it again next year because it was a fun, QUICK and EASY way to make it feel like fall.