Super, super delicious Homemade Caramel Apples

Which just so happen to be my specialty... from my latest feel good obsession: The Brown Eyed Baker.

Homemade Caramel Apples

Yield: 10 apples

Prep Time: 45 minutes | Chill Time: 1 hour

2 bags Caramel Bits
10 Granny Smith apples
Assorted chocolates for melting
Assorted candies, chips, etc. for rolling

1. Wash the apples, remove the stems (and any stickers!) and refrigerate them overnight.

2. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and spray with a non-stick cooking spray. Insert wooden or lollipop sticks into the center of each apple.

3. In a small saucepan, melt the caramel according to the package directions. One at a time, dip the apples into the caramel, swirling and using a spoon to get it covered. Place on the baking sheet and repeat with all of the apples. Place the apples in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

4. In a 2-cup measuring cup (this works perfectly for this!), melt whatever chocolate you are using. I used the microwave at 50% power in 30-second increments. Have your candies and chips ready. Dip the caramel apple into the chocolate, covering it as much as possible, and then roll it in the desired toppings.

5. Apples will keep for 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator.

Note: I add 1 tablespoon of vegetable shortening per 1 cup of chocolate chips when melting. It keeps the chocolate thin (no clumping) and it dries nice and smooth.

The Rocky Road Caramel Apple (dark chocolate rolled in mini semisweet chips, chopped walnuts and miniature marshmallows – inspired by a favorite ice cream concoction at Marble Slab)

The Reese’s Caramel Apple (milk chocolate rolled in peanut butter chips)

The Snickers Caramel Apple (milk chocolate rolled in chopped peanuts)

The Apple Pie Caramel Apple (white chocolate rolled in a brown sugar and cinnamon mixture)

Rules & Regulations

Learn well your grammar,
And never stammer,
Write well and neatly,
And sing most sweetly, 
Be enterprising,
Love early rising, 
Go for walks of six miles, 
Have ready quick smiles,
With lightsome laughter, 
Soft, flowing after.


Drink tea, not coffee;
Never eat toffy.
Eat bread with butter. 
Once more, don't stutter.
Don't waste your money, 
Abstain from honey.  

Shut doors behind you,
(Don't slam them, mind you), 
Drink beer, not porter.
Don't enter the water
Till to swim you are able.
Sit close to the table.
Take care of a candle.
Shut a door by the handle, 


Don't push with your shoulder
Until you are older.
Lose not a button. 
Refuse cold mutton.
Starve your canaries.
Believe in fairies.
If you are able, 
Don't have a stable
With any mangers.


Be rude to strangers.


Moral: Behave
-Charles L. Dodgson

Relationship satisfaction and outcome in women who meet their partner while using oral contraception

Abstract:

Hormonal variation over the menstrual cycle alters women’s preferences for phenotypic indicators of

men’s genetic or parental quality. Hormonal contraceptives suppress these shifts, inducing different

mate preference patterns among users and non-users. This raises the possibility that women using oral

contraception (OC) choose different partners than they would do otherwise but, to date, we know neither

whether these laboratory-measured effects are sufficient to exert real-world consequences, nor what these

consequences would be. Here, we test for differences in relationship quality and survival between women

who were using or not using OC when they chose the partner who fathered their first child. Women who

used OC scored lower on measures of sexual satisfaction and partner attraction, experienced increasing

sexual dissatisfaction during the relationship, and were more likely to be the one to initiate an eventual

separation if it occurred. However, the same women were more satisfied with their partner’s paternal provision, and thus had longer relationships and were less likely to separate. These effects are congruent with evolutionary predictions based on cyclical preference shifts. Our results demonstrate that widespread

use of hormonal contraception may contribute to relationship outcome, with implications for human

reproductive behaviour, family cohesion and quality of life.

Keywords: mate choice; contraceptive pill; attractiveness;

Entire PDF