4-ingredient quick and easy candy apples recipe that adults and kids love. Make these nostalgic candied apples to celebrate the harvest season!
A perfect childhood sweet treat: whole juicy apples coated in sweet sugar syrup that you can eat any time of the day, any time of the year.
Candy apples are great for kids’ parties, a Halloween party, and any fall gathering to add that juicy sugary crunch and some happy smiles.
Why You’ll Love Homemade Candy Apples
- A quick and easy recipe without using red hot cinnamon candies (unwrapping every single one…)
- And a great use of a big harvest of apples.
- Making candy apples is fun and you should try it with kids!
- Healthy and delicious sweet treat that doesn’t contain much gluten, and is vegan-friendly.
Which Apples Are Best For Candied Apples?
When talking about the best apples, we need to talk about the type of apple. Any ripe red or green apples work for candy apple recipes! Garden and organic apples are best for making candied apples as they won’t have any waxy coating or pesticides in the skin. I personally prefer green granny smith apples.
Granny Smith apples, Honeycrisp, and other tart apples are firm and crisp apples and are better for candy apples in my opinion because they have a crunch and brighter taste.
Red apples, like Cosmic Crisp, are usually sweeter and softer, and using them is a great idea if that’s the kind of apples you love.
Candy Coating Ingredients
The candy coating is a very simple sugar mixture, made with just two ingredients: melted sugar and corn syrup. I also add red food coloring to the mix.
- Granulated sugar
- Light corn syrup
- Red food coloring (gel food coloring works too).
You’ll Also Need
- Lollipop sticks, popsicle sticks, or any wooden stick, even craft sticks work.
- Baking sheet or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Wax paper doesn’t work.
- Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan. Choosing a pan or pot make sure it is small enough that melted sugar syrup will be deep enough to cover the apples. If not, you can always tilt the pot a little while coating.
- Candy thermometer.
How To Make Candy Apples
- Wash and dry apples; if your apples have a wax coating, dip them in boiling water to remove the wax. (this is very important for making the candy stick to the apples)
- Insert lollipop sticks into the top of each apple, about halfway down. Make sure it sticks in place even if you hold it upside down.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a large pot. I like to use my Dutch oven for this.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. It may take around 20-30 minutes.
- Cook the mixture until it reaches 300 to 310 degrees F (149 to 154 degrees C) (the hard crack stage). Use a candy thermometer to check the temp. If you don’t have a thermometer, drop some hot syrup into cold water and observe – if it forms little threads, it is done.
- Remove the hot sugar syrup from heat and CAREFULLY stir in red food coloring. It may pop and splash – so be careful. The red color is optional, but ads to the tradition of a bright red candy syrup.
- Carefully dip each prepared apple into the hot candy coating, swirling to cover the entire apple. Allow any excess candy mixture to drip back into the pan before moving the apples to the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Allow the apples to cool completely before serving. It will take around 10 minutes for the candy apples to harden completely.
- For more comfortable eating guests can cut apples into quarters, and serve in individual cupcake liners. The cooled apples are quite hard to bite in, so kids usually lick them first which works fine too.
How To Store Candied Apples
The candy apples are best served and eaten on the same day.
Wrapped in plastic the hard candy apples can last in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Candy Apple Recipe Variations
- Flavorings. A few drops of vanilla or almond extract or cinnamon oil to the coating mixture can add subtle flavors.
- Caramel apples. caramel topping is easy to make, you simply melt caramel in a large bowl and dip each apple.
- Chocolate apples. Same recipe but instead of sugar syrup you melt your favorite chocolate.
- To make this recipe 100% gluten-free, use caster sugar instead of white sugar. Corn syrup is supposed to be naturally gluten-free.
- Decorations: you can coat candied apples in sprinkles, chocolate or creamy drizzle, crushed nuts, and add a little cute ribbon bow to the sticks. Add edible glitter to the coating for show-stopping apples.
Tips To Make The Best Candied Apples
- If you notice candy coating starts to harden, simply re-melt it again.
- Do not spray the baking sheet or parchment paper with cooking spray to avoid oily residue and taste in your mouth.
- Make sure the apples are dry before coating them. The syrup won’t stick to wet.
- It is easier to coat apples if you tilt the saucepan slightly on one side.
- Avoid bubbles in the syrup mixture, as it will mean uneven coating for the candy apple. Bubbles can mean that there was still some waxy coating left on the apple skin.
- Do not cut thin apple slices when eating candy apples, as the hard coating will crumble too much and it won’t look pretty.
- If you have a leftover sugar mixture, make homemade lollipops! Pour some on parchment paper, insert the stick while the syrup is still hot, and let it cool completely.
Popular Questions
How To Remove Wax Coating From Store-Bought Apples
If you use store-bought apples to make your own candy apples, you need to make sure there is no wax left on the skin otherwise the coating won’t stick!
To remove the wax from the apples, boil 5 cups of water with 1 tbsp of white vinegar, dip the apples for 10 seconds, wipe the apples clean with paper towels, and let them cool and dry completely overnight.
What Is The Difference Between Candied Apples And Caramel Apples?
Caramel apple has soft toffee-flavored coating while candied apples have hard sugar syrup shells often tinted red with food coloring.
Why Aren’t My Candy Apples Hardening?
If you don’t get the sugar coating until the hard crack stage, the coating will not harden properly. You need to use a cold water test or a candy thermometer to check if the coating is ready.
Do You Have To Clean Apples For Candy Apples?
Yes! You need to wash, completely dry, and make sure there is no waxy coating left on the apples before making candy apples.
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Candied Apples
Ingredients
- 10 apples 8-10 apples
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon red food coloring
Instructions
- Wash and dry apples; if your apples have a wax coating, dip them in boiling water to remove the wax. (this is very important for making the candy stick to the apples)
- Insert lollipop sticks into the top of each apple, about halfway down.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a large pot. I like to use my Dutch oven for this.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.
- Using a candy thermometer, cook the mixture until it reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit (the hard crack stage).
- Remove the mixture from heat and CAREFULLY stir in red food coloring. It may pop and splash – so be careful.
- Carefully dip each prepared apple into the mixture, swirling to cover the entire apple.
- Allow any excess candy mixture to drip back into the pan before moving the apples to the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Allow the apples to cool completely before serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
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