Rosh HaShanah Caramel Apple Craft for Kids (and Adults!)

As a Jewish Educator I love finding fun ways to involve kids in the holidays. This past weekend I discovered a home run of an activity when I asked my 6th-8th graders to make caramel apples as a way to celebrate Rosh HaShanah. It was a great way to tie into the "sweet new year" theme while also trying something different than apples and honey.

If you'd like to make caramel apples with your own kids - or even without kids present, the adults who participated in the activity had loads of fun too! - the recipe is included below. I reduced the amount of ingredients so that the recipe only makes six caramel apples, instead of the 20 apples we made last weekend. The recipe is adapted from the caramel apple recipe on the back of a Kraft Caramels package (which also happens to be a kosher brand of caramels you can find at the supermarket) and this All Recipes recipe. Enjoy!

Easy Caramel Apples for Rosh HaShanah

Ingredients: Makes 6 caramel apples

• 6 apples
• 6 popsicle sticks
• 1 (14 ounce) package individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
• 2 tablespoons milk
• An assortment of toppings for rolling the caramel coated apples (optional). Some examples: crushed Oreo cookies, crushed graham crackers, chocolate sprinkles, M&Ms.

Put the apples in the fridge at least one hour before getting started. This will help the caramel stick to the apples. Line a section of your counter with parchment paper - this is where you are going to put the apples right after they've been dipped. (You can also use paper plates.)

Now we are going to make the caramel sauce in a double boiler.* Add the caramels and milk to the metal bowl. Stir constantly over medium heat until the caramels have melted. Remove the double boiler from heat, but keep the pot of melted caramel sauce over the hot water so it doesn't cool down too quickly.

Remove the stems from the apples and press one popsicle stick into the top of each one. Roll each apple in the caramel sauce, holding it over the bowl for a moment afterward to let extra caramel drip off. Now you can roll the apple in different toppings, if you like.

Place apples in your prepared area to cool. If you like you can put them in the fridge to speed up the cooling process.

* You can make one by placing a medium-sized metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. The pot should be big enough for half the bowl to fit inside it, but small enough so that the bowl can’t fall in. Also, make sure the bottom of your bowl is not touching the water – there should be at least 3-4 inches of space.