Homemade Caramel Apples Recipe

Come one, come all! Step right up this Vintage Treat Sunday and prepare to be amazed… For the main event, we’ve dipped a batch of one of the season’s essential treats where sweetness meets nostalgia for a show-stopper that’ll leave you drooling for more!

Caramel Apple Ingredients

• 6 medium-sized crisp apples
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup light corn syrup
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ tsp vanilla
• Salt
• Nonstick cooking spray

Coating Ingredients

• Chopped pecans
• Mini chocolate chips
• Halloween sprinkles

Additional Tools

• Slotted spoon
• Wooden lollipop sticks
• Silicone whisk
• Candy thermometer
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Bowls for coating

Instructions

1. Before starting your Caramel Apples, blanch the apples to remove the waxy coating that most apples are sold with in stores. Bring a pot of water with a capful or so of distilled white vinegar to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, place one apple at a time in the mixture and roll it around for about 5 seconds or so to dissolve the wax coating. Remove the apple and dry with a paper towel. Allow all apples about a half hour or so to fully dry.
   • Note that the apples will appear less vibrant once their waxy coating has been dissolved – this is okay and will actually help the caramel adhere to the outside of the apple!
2. Once the apples are dry, remove their stems and insert a wooden lollipop stick into the top of each one. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Wipe the parchment paper with a paper towel to ensure full coverage.
3. When you’re ready to start, add the sugar, corn syrup and water to a saucepan with a thick bottom. Stir everything to combine and then heat over medium high heat.
4. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Swirl the mixture regularly to disperse any spots that may be in danger of scorching. You can also gently stir with a silicone whisk, which will not conduct heat through the syrup like a metal whisk would. Keep a close eye on the candy thermometer and cook until the syrup turns amber in color.
   • We did a good amount of recipe research before making these Caramel Apples, and found recipes saying you can cook the syrup to a range of temperatures from about 240°F on up to make the caramel. We ended up cooking our syrup to 375°F before removing it from the heat, but I do think we got dangerously close to burning the caramel. The next time we make these, I plan to cook the syrup to a lower temperature, more in the 320°F to 340°F range, as that’s what’s noted on our candy thermometer for “Caramel” and is about when the syrup started turning the amber color. As always, trust your instincts and use your best judgment in the kitchen, especially when working with such high temperatures!
5. Once the syrup has reached the desired temperature (see note above), remove the pan from heat and carefully pour in the cream, gently whisking to combine. Stir in the butter, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until smooth.
   • Be very careful when pouring in the cream – the extreme temperature difference will cause the syrup to sputter, but this will subside as everything combines.
6. Allow the caramel to cool to about 190°F before dipping the apples. While the caramel is cooling, you can prepare any coatings, such as chopped pecans, mini chocolate chips, or Halloween sprinkles.
7. When the caramel is ready, dip the apples one at a time, using their sticks to swirl and coat them evenly. Hold the dipped apples over the pan to allow any excess caramel to drip off and once it has settled a bit, coat with any coatings if desired.
8. Continue until all apples are dipped and coated. If the caramel cools too much and becomes too firm to dip, you can reheat it over low heat for a few minutes and resume dipping.
   • Note that the caramel may continue to slide down the apple and pool around the base as it cools, but can easily be cut away or re-formed back onto the apple once the caramel is cool to the touch.
9. Allow the caramel on the apples to fully set and cool, which can take up to an hour, then serve and enjoy!
   • Leftovers can be individually wrapped in cellophane treat bags and tied with ribbon or parchment paper to avoid the caramel from each apple sticking to the other. They can be refrigerated in an airtight container for about a week.

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Remember a few weeks ago in our Slime Green Candied Apples post when we said we had it on good authority you’d be seeing Caramel Apples before the season was through? You know ‘em, you love ‘em, and no trip to Six Flags is complete without ‘em: today’s the day we’re making Homemade Caramel Apples!

In case you’re unfamiliar, caramel apples are a delicious treat that combines the contrasting flavors of tart apples and sweet, gooey caramel as opposed to the crunchy candy coating of their confectionery cousin, the candied apple. These delightful treats have a rich history dating back to the mid-1930s when Hunter’s Candy in Moscow, Idaho, created a new treat by coating the apples with their caramel. Since then, caramel apples have become an autumnal and Halloween mainstay, often found at carnivals, fairs, and fall festivals.

The process of making caramel apples can vary depending on if they’re being produced in high quantities or small batches at home. Many production lines will wrap the apples in sheets of caramel then heat them to melt the coating evenly onto each apple. When making them at home, you can get caramel melts from the store to melt down and dip the apples in or you can make your own caramel from scratch. Obviously for a first attempt, I had to give making my own caramel a try!

And here is where I just want to take a quick moment to brag on myself because I successfully made the caramel for these caramel apples from scratch on my first attempt! I know (from watching a lot of Food Network) that caramel is notoriously tricky to pull off, and I’m fairly sure I was literal seconds away from burning the syrup, but I pulled it off and I was thrilled with how these caramel apples turned out!! I did learn a few tips through the process, though, that I’ll definitely be implementing when I make caramel apples in the future.

First, I won’t use quite as much vinegar in the water bath to clean the apples; just about a capful will do the job. I also think I left the apples in the boiling water a touch too long, but they had a pretty thick wax coating and needed a few dips. I do think their outer layers started to cook, so I tried to counter that by storing them in the refrigerator until I was ready to dip them in the caramel. As for the caramel itself, I mentioned this in the recipe, but I found a range of temperatures that folks say to heat the syrup to before removing from heat and mixing in the cream, butter, and salt. I went with a (much) higher temperature as I had read that the caramel needed to be that hot from a trusted source, but I really think we were flirting with burning and ruining the syrup. The next time I make caramel apples (and there will be a next time, because overall it was too easy to make these at home not to do it again!), I think I’ll target the 320°F to 340°F range, as that was right around the temperature where the syrup started to turn amber and I think that would produce a lighter caramel.

When it comes to dipping your caramel apples in coatings, whether they be chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, sprinkles, or something else, it actually works best to hold the apple over a bowl and sprinkle the coatings on top instead of rolling the apple around in the coating. I also found it effective to put a layer of the coating in my palm and pushing the caramel apple into it to ensure it stuck The caramel, while cooled, will still be pretty pliable when you’re coating the apples, and rolling them around in the coating will result in caramel sticking to the bowl and a much bigger mess than if you just coat them by hand. And once they’re all set, the caramel will still slide down the apples a bit before it’s fully set, so don’t be surprised if your coatings slide down a little or if there’s a bit of a pooling around the base. You can always push the pooled caramel back into place before it’s fully set or add some more coating to empty spots that appear; and if all else fails, you’re going to eat these anyway, so it’s really the flavors that matter most!

And I have to say, the flavors of these caramel apples were absolutely fantastic. The caramel itself was rich and flavorful, and each coating paired very well with the mix of salty, sweet, and tart flavors. The saltiness of the pecans enhanced the caramel, while the sweetness of the chocolate chips complemented it nicely; and of course, the Halloween sprinkles just added a spooky fun flair that was unmatched! Even the “plain” caramel apple was a delicious treat that was full of both fall flair and vintage vibes that took me right back to the autumnal days of my childhood.

So if the craving for a classic fall indulgence hits this season, trick-or-treat yourself to a Homemade Caramel Apple! With a straightforward recipe for from-scratch caramel and endless possibilities for flavor combinations with coatings of your choosing, you’ll be dipping apples and making memories with family, friends, and loved ones in no time at all. Whether you’re enjoying them around a bonfire, sharing them at a Halloween party, or simply indulging in a cozy autumn evening treat, these Homemade Caramel Apples are sure to add dashes of both sweetness and nostalgia to your fall festivities this spooky season and beyond. Bone appétit!