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National Caramel Apple Day is Oct. 31, but caramel apples can be celebrated all autumn long. Sometimes a traditional caramel apple on a stick is perfect for its portability, but other times a caramel apple-inspired dessert, snack, or even cocktail might be in order. Here are 25 recipes to help celebrate caramel apples throughout the season.
This recipe goes way beyond a jar of apple topping. Caramel sauce, cinnamon apples, spiced whipped cream and even the vanilla ice cream are made from scratch for a homemade treat that will impress anyone.
Recipe: Spoonful of Flavor
Some people love putting a slice of sharp cheddar cheese on apple pie. This recipe is for them -- and anyone else who loves salty ingredients in sweet dishes. One of these cheese balls would be devoured quickly at a football party or holiday gathering.
Recipe: Delish
Creamy salted caramel flavored Baileys is mixed with apple vodka in a cocktail recipe garnished with an apple slice. It's easy enough to serve at an adult Halloween party.
Recipe: Baileys
Caramel apples with Asian flavors? This unusual recipe uses complex Japanese miso in the caramel and pistachio coating for a salty, umami-filled punch.
Recipe: Bon Appetit
If you could take a whole apple pie and pack it into a caramel apple on a stick, you'd get this culinary creation. After dipping the apples in caramel, they get dipped into white chocolate, then coated with cinnamon sugar-flecked pie crust crumbs. This is one portable apple pie.
Recipe: Five Heart Home
These rolls take only an hour from start to finish, thanks to rapid-rise yeast. Caramel goes into the rolls and on top for extra gooeyness.
Recipe: Gimme Some Oven
Sometimes it's best to keep it simple, and for those times, use the best possible ingredients. Making your own caramel takes a bit of effort, but the payoff is worth it, especially with fresh fall apples.
Recipe: Serious Eats
If you think Jell-O shots are only for college students, think again. This grown-up version includes a caramel, Fireball whisky, and butterscotch schnapps jelly that's poured into hollowed-out apples, then sliced into wedges. Fresh fruit and caramel probably never made it into shots during college.
Recipe: Delish
This fun recipe makes a great finger food dessert. Unlike most taquitos, these are baked, not fried -- and filled with caramel and apple pie filling. Rolling them in cinnamon sugar gives extra crunch.
Recipe: Cincy Shopper
Caramel, apple cider, and champagne go surprisingly well together. Who knew?
Recipe: Rania's Catering
A rich, tender coffee cake full of apples and topped with brown sugar crumbs and caramel has got to be the best way to eat caramel apples for breakfast. Bake it in a springform pan for a beautiful brunch centerpiece.
Recipe: Lemon Tree Dwelling
Puppy chow is a Midwestern treat that goes by the name Muddy Buddies in the store. This version uses apple-flavored cereal, caramel, brownie mix, and Milky Way bars for an over-the-top snack.
Recipe: Your Cup of Cake
The name of this bread refers to the method of forming it: Once the dough has risen once and the sliced apples and caramel are incorporated, chop it all up into pieces before putting it in the loaf pan. It gets topped with even more caramel once cool. Use leftovers for french toast the next morning.
Recipe: Seasons & Suppers
The brownie that forms the base of this cheesecake is actually a blondie, meaning there's no chocolate. But that's okay, because it's also full of apples and toasted pecans, then covered in a thick layer of cheesecake. Apple topping and caramel sauce finish the whole thing.
Recipe: Southern Living
Skip real apples altogether in this recipe for chewy caramel candy. Fresh apple cider is reduced to create a flavorful addition to caramels. Wrap them individually and give them as a hostess gift at the next fall dinner party.
Recipe: Smitten Kitchen
Making a pie crust can be a pain, especially if there's not much time. This deconstructed apple pie skips the crust completely and layers a cooked-apple-and-nut filling with caramel apple sauce and whipped cream.
Recipe: Cravings of a Lunatic
Another option for those who aren't fans of making pie crust: apple pie bars. The crust of these bars is made from shortbread dough that's pressed into the bottom of the pan. It's topped with fresh apple filling, oatmeal streusel, and salted caramel sauce.
Recipe: Sally's Baking Addiction
Don't be fooled by the name: There are no vegetables in this salad. There are fresh apples though, along with vanilla pudding, whipped cream, and chopped Snickers bars.
Recipe: Chef in Training
Shredded apple, cinnamon, and ginger make these cupcakes taste like fall, and the frosting starts with homemade caramel and ends with plenty of butter. These would go fast at a work potluck.
Recipe: Handle the Heat
Putting a cinnamon stick or two into hot apple cider is a given, but what about caramel? Top the mug with caramel whipped cream and a pinch of salt to bring out the flavors.
Recipe: Land O'Lakes
Frozen apple juice concentrate and fresh grated apples give this cookie a double dose of apple flavor. The apple juice concentrate is mixed into the frosting too, then sprinkled with chopped pecans and salt.
Recipe: Cooking Classy
What makes this cake stand out from the rest is the brown sugar and buttermilk in the batter. Then gently cooked apples are arranged in a gorgeous pattern on top, and drizzled with apple-brandy caramel sauce.
Recipe: Southern Living
Apple crisp is a deceptively simple alternative to baking an apple pie. Apples, cinnamon and caramel sauce are poured into a baking dish and an oat-based crumble is scattered on top. Serve it with a scoop of ice cream on top.
Recipe: Iowa Girl Eats
Upside-down cake is usually reserved for ripe summer pineapple, but this apple version is ideal for fall. Spiced brown sugar and thinly sliced apples go into the bottom of the pan, forming a crown of gooey caramel on top when the cake is turned out.
Recipe: Pinch of Yum
This recipe couldn't get any simpler. Cream cheese is covered with caramel sauce and toffee bits. So where is the apple? You spread the whole thing on apple slices instead of crackers.
Recipe: She Wears Many Hats