I believe that these are called 'candy apples' over here, but where I'm from they're called toffee apples.

You've got to be a bit careful with these if you have loose or chipped teeth; they're pretty hard and sticky.

You'll need:

6 apples - I used Red Delicious, but some people prefer Granny Smiths for the contrast between the tart apple and the sweet coating.

6 bamboo skewers or popsicle sticks.

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup water

tsp butter or margarine

splash of vanilla

Bleand all the ingredients in a small pan (the smallest, deepest one you've got) and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to prevent scorching and boiling over, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until candy hardens when dripped into cold water.  If you have a candy thermometer, you want to go for the 'hard ball' mark.  If you don't, simply let a few drops of the mix drip from the spoon into a cup of cold water.  When it hardens to your satisfaction, you're ready to dip your apples.

Whilst you're cooking up your toffee mix, wash and dry your apples  and spike them with your skewers or popsicle sticks.  Spead out some foil on a baking tray and lightly grease it (the foil, not the tray).

One your mix has reached the desired hardness, turn off the heat.  Dip your apples into the mix, turning to coat them well (that's why you used a small, deep pan - so you'd be able to coat the whol apple instead of just the bottom half), then place them on the foil.  If you've got any mixture left over, you can drizzle it over the apples on the tray.

Let the apples sit for an hour or so until the toffee shell hardens, then....enjoy!

(Watch out for those teeth though....I'm not responsible for anyone busted molars!)