The perfect shiny red candy apples have a super thin layer of sweet candy coating with no bubbles and the perfect amount of cinnamon flavor. Not only is making your own candy apples from scratch incredibly easy (compared to unwrapping 100's of cinnamon candies and melting them) you won't believe how good they taste! Read on for all my tips and tricks for perfectly shiny and sparkly homemade candy apples.
This perfect candy apple recipe is exactly what you need to wow at your next Halloween party or if you've had many fails before, this recipe will fix all your problems!
What's In This Blog Post
- Candy Apple Ingredients & Equipment Needed
- How To Make Candy Apples Step By Step
- What Ingredients Were Used To Make The First Candy Apple?
- Candy Apple FAQ
Candy Apple Ingredients & Equipment Needed
Candy Thermometer - The most important thing for this candy apple recipe is to use a candy thermometer to ensure you cook your sugar all the way to the hard crack stage. You can check your sugar the old fashioned way but its a risk and trust me you don't want to do all the work of boiling sugar only for it to fail.
Wooden Sticks - If you don't have any you can make your own by cutting a ¼" dowel into 5" long pieces and sharpening one end with a pencil sharpener or even use popsicle sticks or wooden skewers.
Silicone Mat - If you don't have a silicone mat you can use a sheet of aluminum foil to rest your candy apples on.
Light Corn Syrup - Corn syrup in this recipe keeps the candy from crystalizing and makes it extra shiny! If you don't have any corn syrup you can use glucose or just replace the corn syrup with more white sugar equal in weight.
Food Coloring - This is a must if you want the best candy apples that are a beautiful red color! You can use liquid or gel food coloring.
Edible Glitter - This is absolutely optional but you can get edible glitter at most craft stores like michales or JoAnn fabrics.Crisp Apples - I think the only way to make a true great candy apple is to use green granny smith apples. They are tart and not sweet and go perfectly with the sweetness of the cinnamon sugar coating.
Cinnamon Candy - I'm using cinnamon candy in my recipe because I could not find any cinnamon extract ANYWHERE! Maybe there is a shortage? If you don't have cinnamon candy, you can use ¼ teaspoon cinnamon extract instead or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon which tastes SO GOOD but does leave some specs in the finish of the candy apple. If you're feeling really bougie, try adding a little nutmeg, clove, or pumpkin spice! Yum!
How To Make Candy Apples Step-By-Step
Making candy apples is really a two-day process. Not because it takes a long time but it's just easier. So here's my process.
Day 1
- WASH THEM APPLES! And I mean like wash them really really well. Apples come with this wax coating that causes annoying bubbles to appear under the sugar. The best way to wash your apples is to scrub every inch of them in hot hot water with a paper towel or to even heat some water until it just starts to steam (not boil) and dunk your apples in the water for 1 minute. Rose Bakes says to add some baking soda to the water too. Rotate them with a spoon to make sure you submerge the whole apple.
note* It will brown the apples but once you dip them in sugar, you won't be able to tell.
- Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and dry them well with paper towels and store the apples in the fridge overnight. Don't worry about removing the stems yet. Cold apples are the best apples for dipping.
- You CAN dip the apples right away but you risk getting bubbles from leftover water on the apples so make sure you dry them really really well, especially the top and bottom.
Day 2
- Gather all your pre-measured ingredients for the candy apples so you are prepared and not rushed.
- Place a silicone mat or a sheet of tinfoil sprayed with a little cooking spray onto a sheet pan for the dippled apples to go on.
- Keep a bowl of ice water nearby and wear some gloves for protection against hot sugar drips! If you do happen to get some sugar on your hand, you can quickly remove the glove and the sugar will come with it instead of burning your hand or you can quickly dip your hand in the ice water to harden the sugar and stop it from burning.
- Remove the stems from your apples and insert the sticks. Make sure the apple is sitting on the work surface and then push the stick in, this will ensure your sticks are straight up and down.
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine sugar, syrup, and water, and then mix it gently with a wooden spoon to combine.
- Bring the sugar mixture to a boil over medium-high heat with the lid on the saucepan. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. This ensures all the sugar dissolves and your mixture does not crystalize.
- Remove the lid and add in your cinnamon candies and your candy thermometer.
- Over medium heat, without any further stirring begin to heat the sugar mixture until it reaches 300ºF. The candy cooks slowly so it could take up to 30 minutes to reach this temperature. It could take more or less time, keep a close eye on your thermometer. Be patient, it will get there. You might notice your temperature hangs out for a while at 250ºF and that is normal because the water is still evaporating. Once all the water is gone, the temp will begin to rise again.
- Once your sugar has reached 300ºF, remove the pan from the heat. This is when you will add your food coloring and your edible glitter (if you want).
- Let the candy cool slightly to about 270-280ºF before dipping your apples.
- Now you can tilt the saucepan and roll your apples in the hot sugar to coat them. You only need a thin coat!
- Lift the apple out and let the excess drip off. I even scrape the bottom of mine a bit on the edge of the pot so I don't get a bunch of excess sugar pooling around the bottom of the apple.
- Place the apple onto the silicone mat and in about 10-15 minutes your candy apples will be ready to enjoy! So yummy!
Can you believe how GORGEOUS these candy apples turned out? So so shiny and really tasty! If you've never had a candy apple before, give it a try! You might be surprised how good they are. The perfect combination of a little tart and a little sweet with a little crunch! Definitely my favorite homemade dessert for the fall season.
If you love making candy that doubles as a centerpiece, you have to try kohakutou crystal gummy candy.
If you prefer a soft, chewy caramel coating instead of a hard candy shell, try my caramel apples recipe.
What Ingredients Were Used To Make The First Candy Apple?
Candy Apple FAQ
When your sugar is cooked to 300ºF the candy should harden fully within 10 minutes and be ready to eat.
The sugar coating your candy apples will get sticky over time as they absorb moisture from the air. The other thing could be that you didn't cook the sugar to 300ºF.
Make sure you wash your apples really well to remove all the wax from the surface of the apples, dry them really well and dip them the day after you wash them.
You can add any type of food coloring to your sugar mixture. For more opaque colors, add a couple of drops of white food coloring as well.
Yes, its very easy to add extracts or candy flavoring to candy apple sugar.
It's best to store candy apples in the fridge and enjoy them within 24-48 hours of making them.
The candy is very hard and although you COULD bite into it, it's much easier to slice it first then enjoy.
Candy apples are covered in hard candy, flavored with cinnamon. But where did they come from? I did some digging and found out that candymaker William W. Kolb is credited with inventing the first candy apple in Newark, New Jersey in 1908. His candies were made with sugar, corn syrup, red food coloring, and powdered cinnamon.
Kolb was looking for ways to sell his cinnamon candy during Christmas but no one was buying. He decided to showcase his cinnamon candy by dipping green apples into the cinnamon candy and placing them in his window display.
The bad news is no one wanted to buy his cinnamon candies but they were crazy for is candy apples! Candy apples quickly became very popular as not only a Christmas treat but also became popular to give out to trick-or-treaters during Halloween. They remained popular treats until the 1970s where old wives' tales began to circulate about blades or needles being placed into apples.
If you've ever actually bitten into a candy apple then you know that sugar is very sharp! So my theory is some kid actually cut their mouth on the sugar because no actual recorded reports of razor blades or needles found in candy apples have ever been found. For this reason, I always cut my candy apple into slices to eat it instead of biting into the hard candy.
Recipe
Equipment
- heavy bottom saucepan
- Candy Thermometer
- silicone mat
- clean pastry brush
- Apple skewers
- nitrile gloves (optional for precaution while dipping)
Ingredients
- 8-10 small granny smith apples
- 30 ounces granulated sugar
- 12 ounces water
- 6 ounces corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon food coloring, optional
- 8 ounces cinnamon hard candy
- ¼ teaspoon flash dust optional
Instructions
- The night before, scrub the apples in very hot water for 10 to 15 seconds to melt off the wax, dry them well, and chill them uncovered on a paper-towel-lined tray overnight. The day of, line a sheet pan with a silicone mat (or oiled foil), keep a bowl of ice water within arm's reach for sugar safety, and put on nitrile gloves. Insert wooden sticks into the chilled apples right before you start cooking and return the prepped apples to the fridge.
- Combine sugar, water, and corn syrup. Add the sugar, water, and corn syrup to a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir gently with a wooden spoon to combine. Do not splash syrup up the sides of the pan.
- Boil with the lid on for 5 minutes. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover with a lid for 5 minutes. The trapped steam washes stray sugar crystals back into the syrup so the batch will not crystallize at the hard crack stage. If your saucepan does not have a lid, use a clean wet pastry brush to wash down the sides with water every minute during this phase.
- Add the cinnamon candy and thermometer. Remove the lid, drop in the 8 ounces of cinnamon hard candy, and clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Do not stir from this point forward.
- Cook to 300º F. Over medium heat, hold a steady simmer and let the candy climb to 300º F (hard crack). The thermometer will hang around 250º F for several minutes while the water evaporates, then it will climb fast. Total cook is around 25 to 30 minutes.
- Add color and glitter off heat. Once the candy hits 300º F, pull the pan off the heat. Add the food coloring and edible glitter and swirl gently to combine.
- Cool to 280º F before dipping. Let the candy sit until the active bubbling settles and the thermometer reads 280º F.
- Tilt and roll to dip. Pull cold apples from the fridge one at a time. Tilt the saucepan, roll the apple in the hot candy, dip deep enough to coat almost to the core, and let the excess drip off before placing stick-up on the silicone mat
- Set and serve. Let the candy apples set at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes until the shell is fully hard. If the candy thickens before you finish dipping, return it to low heat for a minute or two to liquify. Pour any leftover candy into silicone molds for hard candies.
Video
Notes
- Ingredient notes: Granny Smith is the strong move here, tart and firm. Soft sweet apples like Red Delicious will let the shell slide off. Cinnamon hard candy is the cleanest flavor route. Use ¼ teaspoon cinnamon extract off heat as a swap, or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon if that is all you have (expect visible specks in the shell).
- Equipment notes: A candy thermometer is non-negotiable. Hard crack at 300º F is the line between a glassy shell and a sticky shell. If you must work without one, use the ice water test: drop ½ teaspoon of syrup into ice water and check for a thin, brittle thread that snaps cleanly.
- Make-ahead and storage: Best the day they are made. The shell stays glassy for about 24 hours at room temperature. Wrap each apple individually in a cellophane bag once the shell is fully set. Do not refrigerate uncovered (condensation makes them sticky), and do not freeze (the shell will crack).
- Sugar safety: Hot sugar burns are severe. Keep a bowl of ice water within arm's reach the entire time you are cooking. If you get sugar on your skin, immediately remove the glove or dip the area in ice water to harden the sugar before pulling it off.
- Critical do-nots: Do not stir after the boil starts. Do not dip wet or warm apples. Do not dip at 300º F (wait for 280º F). Do not skip the wax removal step. Do not refrigerate the finished apples uncovered.
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