CHEF JEFF -- ONE BYTE AT A TIME: Chocolate Toffee Apples

You can do more than coat those luscious orbs from your backyard tree with caramel.

Chocolate Toffee Apples

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

2¼ cups brown sugar

Dash salt

1 cup light corn syrup

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

3 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

12 apples

12 sticks

In a heavy 3-quart saucepan, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar and salt. Add corn syrup. Stir to combine. Gradually stir in condensed milk. Add chocolate squares. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until candy reaches the firm ball stage (245 degrees), about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract. Put apples on sticks (insert stick through core but not in the stem end). Dip apples in candy and allow to cool on buttered baking sheet.

Yield: Serves 12.

Grab more food tidbits at the Chef Jeff blog at

GrandForksHerald.com.