Caramel Apples

8 small apples, such as, Granny Smith or macoun

2 cups light brown sugar

1 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Toppings of choice, optional, recipes follow

Remove the stems from the apples and scrub them under warm water and dry them. Insert a chopstick through the top of the apple all the way to the top and line a baking sheet with waxed paper, set aside.

Put the sugar, maple syrup, corn syrup, and cream in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, swirling the pan but not stirring, until the mixture reaches 250 degrees F (firm ball stage) on a candy thermometer. Pull pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Tilt the saucepan and dip and spin each apple into the caramel, covering about 3/4 of the apple. Place on the prepared baking sheet until set.

If using a topping spread the topping out on a sheet pan or wax paper and immediately roll the caramel coated apples in the topping. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet until set.

Topping 1:

2 cups chocolate wafers, graham crackers, or vanilla wafers

Put the wafers or cracker of choice in a plastic storage bag and smash until coarse.

Topping 2:

2 cups walnuts or pecans, toasted

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1 tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant and brown, about 8 minutes. Pulse the nuts, cranberries, and ginger in a food processor until mixture resembles very coarse sand.