This easy Candy Apples are a fabulous last minute Halloween treat, and any fun day treat! They are super easy, sweet, a classic and a favorite for all ages! You need sugar, water and food coloring (NO corn syrup!!) to make these sweet apple candy treats.
Spook it up with a black apple like we did here for Halloween and for extra drama on who will “bite” that black apple!
Candy Apples Without Corn Syrup
As much as we all LOVE candy apples, we all agree the corn syrup is not an appealing ingredient. However these candy apples are super appealing, delicious and a perfect excuse to get the kids busy int he kitchen!
They may look hard to make, while they are in fact easy. However, they can go wrong. If they do, you won’t enjoy them! So a few things are crucial for this recipe. More on that in the section below.
To avoid the corn syrup here, I made it myself within the recipe. So don’t worry, it’s still a one pan thing, but a candy or oil thermometer is essential.
Corn syrup if you make at home is basically sugar, water and cream of tartar boiled to a soft crack stage of 250 degrees F. If you buy this from the store, chances are it contains a ton of processed stuff you don’t need! So why is it used then?
Well the cream of tartar used in the corn syrup helps the caramel stay as smooth and soft as you can see. Otherwise when you boil sugar and water, the sugar tends to crystallize and your caramel may be “gritty”.
Now the good news is—lemon juice or vinegar will give you the same effect and keep your caramel silky smooth from crystallization. So for this easy candy apples recipe, feel free to use cream of tartar, lemon juice or vinegar and let’s skip the syrup!
How To Make Candy Apples
Select apples that are not waxed coated. This helps the coating stick easier on your apples. If you can’t find them, try washing the apples at home and drying them well. Apples must be dried before coating.
Also, the type of apple you start with is totally optional. I wouldn’t choose a sweet golden delicious for example since it’s already very sweet. My Dad however would because he would totally be ok with that!
You’ll need a candy/oil thermometer to boil sugar and water to a perfect temperature of 300 degrees F. This temperature is KEY. This is the hard crack stage of sugar.
More than that, you’ll get a tooth breaking crunch. Less than that, you’ll get a sticky candy coating. None are pleasant with apples!
Another thing is the coating process. So once you boil the sugar, water, food coloring till the exact temperature, you’ll need to be as fast as you can dipping the apples in the sugar mixture.
This will help get a small coating only stick to the apples because a thick coating means more tooth breaking crunch—not pleasant!
If you feel the sugar is hardening slightly as you are working, just heat it back on the stove for a few seconds to loosen it back again.
And finally, remember to drain any excess coating off the apple before drying the coating. Again, a thick coating is not good for you tooth!
You want those easy candy apples to have a thin delicate crunch on the outside, not a thick hard one.
Candy Apples Recipe
While this candy apple recipe is clearly Halloween themed, it certainly doesn’t have to be.
Halloween is my girls’ favorite time of the year too, they talk about it at least 3 months ahead and start counting the days. I can’t decide what their favorite part of it is, maybe the dressing up, the trick or treating, the candies and treats, the all day school party and all evening playdate, I can just say that for me it’s definitely the trick or treating!
Last week, we made these Spiderweb Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins. This week by popular demand it was candy apples.
The recipe is not daunting at all, but really having an oil/candy thermometer is key. Plus keeping yourself over the pot start to finish. This one is not a recipe where you can leave it and go!
The red color is a classic for candy apples and it just insinuates sweetness I guess. However, you can use any color! And I’ve seen many recipe with no color, just pure caramel. Still delicious!
For an even healthier candy apples recipe, use natural dried freeze berry powders for color if you can find them. We certainly prefer that, but we had only food coloring today so we used red and black. Black is obviously a Halloween thing.
Let the apples set on a parchment or wax paper for half an hour or so before biting into them. I would probably say that’s the hardest part of the recipe ha! Kids can hardly resist!
Storing the candy apples is a bit tricky. You need them in the fridge for maximum freshness. Likewise you need them to be well covered so they don’t catch any smells from the refrigerator.
I recommend placing them in a large box with a lid. However don’t forget to line your box with parchment paper so they don’t stick! Space them apart to avoid sticking too.
Finally, let them come to room temperature for about 40 minutes so the candy coating can soften a bit.
Ready for that bite?
Candy Apples TIPS
- Start with your favorite type of apples. Wash and dry the apples well.
- Have a candy/oil thermometer.
- Watch your pot very well, and make sure to turn off the heat the exact temperature.
- When dipping the apples, always allow excess coating to drip.
- Place coated apples over parchment paper to avoid sticking.
- Wait for at least 40 mins for the coating to set before eating.
- Store candy apples i the fridge, well covered and in a box lined with parchment paper to avoid sticking.
Ok now do yourself and kids or friends a favor and make those easy candied apples and super enjoy! 🙂 Happy Halloween! 🙂
More Spooky Recipes
Easy Candied Apples
This easy candy apples recipe is a fabulous last minute Halloween treat, and any fun day treat! They are super easy, sweet, a classic and a favorite for all ages! Made without Corn Syrup so it's better for you!
Ingredients
- 8 apples
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar or 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons food coloring red
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry your apples. Place a wooden stick or tree stick in the middle of each apple reaching as deep as you along the length of the apple.
- Make sure the apple is firmly attached to that stick.
- Place the apples on a parchment paper.
- In a medium to small pot, add the ingredients all together and place on medium high heat until it starts to boil.
- At that point lower the heat to medium and place a candy/oil thermometer in the pot.
- Allow the sugar to boil gently for approximately 12 mins until the thermometer registers hard crack stage or 300 degrees F.
- Remove from the heat and immediately begin dipping the apples.
- Tilt the pan to make dipping easier. Dip one apple at a time swirling around the sugar mixture and hold each apple onto of the pan so that any excess sugar drops.
- Place the cited apple on the parchment paper and repeat with the remaining apples.
- If the sugar mixture begins to harden or thicken up, place it back on the heat for a few seconds until it becomes runny again.
- Allow the apples to cool for at least 30 mins to an hour. Remove from the parchment and serve.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Start with your favorite type of apples. Wash and dry the apples well.
- Have a candy/oil thermometer.
- Watch your pot very well, and make sure to turn off the heat the exact temperature.
- When dipping the apples, always allow excess coating to drip.
- Place coated apples over parchment paper to avoid sticking.
- Wait for at least 40 mins for the coating to set before eating.
- Store candy apples i the fridge, well covered and in a box lined with parchment paper to avoid sticking.
Super delicious! and thanks for the tips on how to store them 🙂
These take me right back to my childhood! Such a great treat for kids and adults alike. YUM!
This is so cute and creative. Love to add it as a topping on my desserts.
These are absolute perfection! So perfect for my fall table and the kids just loved them!! Great recipe, thanks so much for sharing 🙂
I really like the fact that these don’t come with all the chemical nasties from the corn syrup. My kids will love making them!
These are so cool and perfect for Halloween!! I love that they are on a stick so it makes them so easy to eat them as well! Cheers
These are a fabulous Fall treat that I love making with my kiddos! I love your pics too – so spooky and delicious looking!
Thank you Beth!!
I was looking for a recipe like this, thank you for sharing!
Shadi you’ll love these!
This is absolutely delicious! I love that it’s such a crowd pleaser for the whole family
So true!
I just tried a different recipe for candy apples this weekend and it was a disaster! Your recipe sounds SOOO much better – I think I’ll try again this weekend with this recipe!
I know what you mean Jenn! I’ve had my share of disasters too 🙂
Who doesn’t love candy apples this time of year! They look amazing, especially the idea of biting into a black apple! The fact that this recipe doesn’t have corn syrup is such a plus!
So true! I stay away from corn syrup as much as I can!
Oh how delicious! I love this for fall time, also a great treat to make around halloween that isnt candy!
It’s exactly that Noelle! My girls love these for Halloween
Yes!!! Thank you so much! Exactly what I was looking for ??
Yaay Madeline! Hope you make it soon!