Caramel Apples
on Oct 01, 2021, Updated Aug 30, 2024
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Homemade caramel apples are surprisingly easy to make and purely joyful.
Homemade caramel apples are surprisingly easy to make and purely joyful. The caramel coating is so easy, and uses wrapped caramel candies as the base. If you don’t have a double boiler, you can make your own homemade double boiler to melt the caramel smoothly and evenly. Caramel sauce is surprisingly quite simple, and beyond caramel apples, it is the perfect way to elevate and enhance all kinds of desserts, from one-pot fudgy brownies to a nut-free flourless chocolate cake.
These fun treats are the perfect dessert to bring to any fall festival. They complement mummy cupcakes on a Halloween party spread. Bring these to a class Halloween party, and be the favorite parent! These caramel apples are a total crowd-pleaser at any fall celebration, alongside pumpkin cookies, pumpkin muffins, or mulled cider.
Table of Contents
Caramel Apples: Homemade caramel apples are surprisingly easy to make, and purely joyful.
What Kind of Apples to Use for Caramel Apples
You can use whatever apples you like — as long as they are firm and crisp. Granny Smith is a good choice, with the tartness playing nicely against the sweet. Honeycrisp and Fuji and Gala, all good choices. You definitely want a crunch when you bite into it.
I like to use smaller apples because, with the caramel and the coatings, there is a lot going on. Though have you seen some of those huge packaged caramel or other candy apples available during the holiday season? The kind that can feed a family of four? They are gorgeous but uh, let’s just say hard to justify.
Caramel Apple Ingredients
- Apple – Granny Smith apples work the best because their tartness pairs nicely with the sweetness of the caramel. You can also use any crunchy apple, such as Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Gala.
- Package caramels – You can use any brand you like.
- Heavy cream – Gives the caramel a rich and creamy consistency.
- Decorations – You can use sprinkles, crushed cookies, granola, crushed nuts, crushed candy, shredded coconut, crushed pretzels, or a combination of all of them.
How to Make Caramel Apples
- Prepare the apples: Insert a wooden stick halfway into each apple.
- Make the caramel: Melt the caramel and heavy cream together in a double boiler.
- Dip the apple and decorate: Dip the apple into the hot caramel. Dip the caramel-coated apple into your decoration of choice.
- Let cool in the fridge for at least an hour, and enjoy!
Wrapping Caramel Apples
For to-go apples, wrap them in clear cellophane, tie them with a piece of string and ribbon, and share them with your neighbors. For Halloween, think about black and orange ribbons; for Thanksgiving, think brown and orange and red and yellow. The sprinkles and the packaging are an easy way to pick up the color theme for a gathering, such as a shower or birthday party.
Storing Caramel Apples
You can store well-sealed candy apples in the fridge for up to 5 days. The apples may soften a bit as they sit.
Kitchen Smarts
It’s best to remove the sticks before storing the caramel apples, as the wood will speed up the spoiling process. You can reinsert the stick to serve.
What the Kids Can Do
Make sure you are supervising like crazy if you have little ones. That melted caramel is HOT, so watch carefully that no one touches the hot caramel. Kids can help choose different toppings (think colored sprinkles or jimmies, crushed cookies or candies, granola, or shredded coconut). And they can dip the coated apples into the toppings of their choice.
Another fun extra is to take fruit leather and cut it into festive holiday shapes. Pumpkins or ghosts are pretty forgiving to create, and then you can stick those fruity pieces right onto the caramel apples for extra Halloween flair.
Or buy edible googly eye candies and stick them onto the apples as soon as they are almost cool. Putting the finished dipped apples in holiday-themed paper cupcake liners also adds a little more festiveness to an already festive treat.
If you are making these for a specific holiday, like Halloween, lean into the colors of the holiday, specifically black and orange. There are loads of sprinkles and other candies in these colors available in stores as October approaches — keep an eye on what might work as a caramel apple topping. Anything small that will stick to melted caramel that makes sense flavor-wise is fair game.
More Apple Desserts
More Fall Dessert Recipes
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Caramel Apples
Ingredients
- 6 small apples (washed)
- 1 (14-ounce) package caramels (unwrapped)
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 6 wooden popsicle sticks
For Decorating the Apples (Pick and Choose):
- Sprinkles
- Crushed cookies (such as chocolate wafers or graham crackers)
- Granola
- Crushed nuts
- Crushed candy (such as toffee or Halloween-colored candy canes)
- Shredded coconut
- Crushed pretzels
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Twist the stem from each of the apples and insert a popsicle stick in the top of each apple, sticking it halfway up the apple for stability.
- Place the desired toppings in separate bowls or containers large enough for the apples to fit inside.
- If you have a double boiler, set that up with water in the bottom. If not, grab a skillet and a saucepan smaller than the width of the skillet by a few inches. Place the saucepan in the skillet and fill the skillet with water to come up about 1/2 inch up the sides of the saucepan nestled inside. Place the caramels and the cream in the top pan of the double boiler or the saucepan in the skillet. Heat over medium heat, stirring often, until the caramels are melted and smooth, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the pot of melted caramel to a trivet or heatproof surface. Dip each apple, one at a time, into the hot caramel. You may choose to coat just the bottom half, or turn the apple to coat it all around with the caramel. Lift the apple up and twirl it gently to allow excess caramel to drip back into the pan.
- Dip the apple into the toppings of your choice. You may use more than one topping for each apple; you do do this by leaning different sides of the coated apple into different toppings, or you can sprinkle some of the toppings over the apple, holding the apple over the toppings in their container.
- If the caramel starts to firm up before you have dipped all of the apples, return it to the heat over simmering water, and stir frequently until it is liquidy again. You can also put it in the microwave (in a microwave-safe container) and heat it for 15-second bursts, stirring in between each 15-second increment.
- Place the decorated apples on the lined baking sheet, transfer the tray to the fridge, and let cool and set for at least 1 hour. Place in cupcake liners if desired.
