There are a lot of things said about apples:
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
“As American as apple pie.”
“A bad apple.”
“Apple of my eye.”
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

And a favorite, especially this time of year, “An apple for the teacher.”

The tradition of giving an apple to the teacher dates back to the frontier days when that was all the payment attainable by parents. Ah, the good old days! But it’s 2016, so let’s up our apple game.

What you need:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Apple
Canning jar
Decorative bag and tag

First, make the homemade caramel dipping sauce. And if you trust your kids stirring the ingredients, let them be part of the process.

Step 1 – Combine sugar, milk and softened butter in a heavy pot.

Step 2 – Turn the heat to medium high and continue stirring until smooth.

Step 3 – Bring to a boil and cook for a couple of minutes.

Step 4 – Turn off the heat and stir in vanilla.

Step 5 – Pour the caramel into a jar and let cool.

Then place the jar of caramel in the bag, place the apple on top of the jar seal the bag and add a tag.

Your meet the teacher gift is done and your kids will be proud that they helped, under adult supervision of course.