It is the 1st of September. That means I can finally justify cooking and baking with apples and pumpkin and cinnamon and cloves! I don’t care that I live in South Carolina, and the temperatures are still hovering in the 90s. I am ready for Fall, goshdarnit!

Caramel apples are one of my favorite comfort foods. It’s definitely a nostalgic thing for me. I still vividly remember driving out to Randy’s Farm in Sleepy Hollow (when we lived in Illinois) to pick out pumpkins. They always had sliced apples covered with caramel and cashews!

Caramel and cashew is a delicious combination. My mother took that one step further and created her famous Chocolate Cashew Caramel Apples.

Chocolate Cashew Caramel Apples

They are delicious and messy — you need a plate, knife, and roll of paper towels to eat them, but no Fall season is complete without them! 🙂 Even when I went away to college, I got a care package every October with my dad’s Caramel Corn and mom’s Chocolate Cashew Caramel Apples!

Chocolate Cashew Caramel Apples:

• 5 Granny Smith Apples
• Kraft Caramels, 2 bags
• Dove Dark Chocolates, 1 bag
• Lightly salted cashews, chopped
• Parchment paper
• Skewers

Directions: 

It is important to do the prep work BEFORE you start melting anything! 

1) Cover a cookie sheet (or two) with parchment paper. Make sure you have fridge and freezer space ready!

2) Chop up the cashews and place in a shallow bowl.

3) Wash and de-stem the apples. Slice in half and insert skewers. I really like cutting the apples in half for two reasons. One, they’re easier to bite. Two, you have a better caramel-apple ratio! 🙂

4) Un-wrap the caramels and put in medium saucepan. Add 4 tablespoons of water. Heat on low until melted, stirring regularly. Use a wooden spoon. Spatulas have a tendency to melt when heating caramel or chocolate. So I’ve heard. From a friend of a friend.

5) When the caramel is melted, spoon over an apple half. Let the caramel drip off the edges — and don’t worry about covering the cut side of the apple. Place on the parchment paper, cut side down, and immediately place in freezer.

REPEAT until all the apples are covered on the skin side.

6) Kept the leftover caramel warm while the apples set, about 2 minutes. Then spoon caramel onto the cut side of the apples. There should now be a chilled edge of caramel to keep the warm caramel from sliding off the flat edge.

7) Take a handful of chopped cashews and cover the warm caramel. Press the cashews into the caramel lightly. Put the apple back on the parchment paper, nut side down. Return apples to freezer for 2 minutes, keeping the remaining caramel warm.

8) Now use the leftover caramel to drizzle over the nut-free sides of the apples. Then sprinkle the remaining cashews over the drizzled caramel. Return to freezer while you prepare the chocolate.

9) Unwrap the Dove Chocolates and warm in a medium saucepan over low heat. When melted, use a spoon to drizzle over the chilled apples. They should look like this:

Chocolate Cashew Caramel Apples

Store in the refrigerator. You can wrap them up in wax paper or plastic baggies. That’s if any are left after you finish making them!

Absolute HEAVEN!