Food Network, I’m losing confidence in you. Sure, your food looks delicious. But your track record lately has been less than impressive.

But Amy and I thought we’d give you another chance this week. So when I got my latest copy of Food Network Magazine, I had Poppy choose three random numbers. Then I lined those three numbers up, and voila! A page number! And the recipe looked like a great one. Caramel apples! How could they be bad?

They weren’t bad, really, but I wouldn’t call them caramel apples. It may well have been user error. The caramel would not stay on the apples. At first I thought maybe I’d tried to coat the apples too soon. But even after waiting several hours, it just slid off the apples.

But the caramel was wildly delicious anyway. I mean, I’m sure that it would have been, had I taken a spoon and scraped it from the parchment paper under the apples. Which I definitely would not have done.

Ahem.

Here’s the recipe!

Perfect Caramel Apples
from Food Network Magazine
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
pinch of salt
6 apples
6 sticks

Mix 2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup light corn syrup and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Cook, swirling the pan (do not stir), until the mixture is light amber and a candy thermometer registers 320 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat; slowly whisk in 1/2 cup heavy cream, then 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Return to low heat and whisk until smooth. Let cool until the caramel is thick enough to coat a spoon. Insert sticks into the stem ends of 6 apples and dip the apples into the caramel, letting the excess drip off. Roll in toppings, then let cool on a parchment-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

Suggested toppings:
-crushed cheese crackers (gross!)
-salted peanuts and caramel popcorn (overkill!)
-diced crystallized ginger and toasted sesame seeds (no thank you!)
-chopped walnuts and dried cranberries (eh!)
-toasted shredded coconut and chopped macademia nuts (maybe!)
-crushed Oreo cookies and a drizzle of melted white chocolate (makes me wish the caramel had stuck!)