How to Make Delicious Caramel Apples

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Categories: Holidays | Halloween | How Tos

  • Want to make your own tasty caramel apples? Mahalo's guide (and video tutorial!) offers simple recipes for you to follow, whether you're melting caramel candies or have decided to cook up homemade caramel. It's easy to coat apples with caramel and make a delicious treat!

  • Introduction

    • We've all seen great-looking caramel apples for sale, whether at a gourmet grocery store or on a quick trip to Disneyland. But before you buy an expensive, albeit delicious, apple, think about how easy it is to make them on your own. You just need to heat a few ingredients to the right temperature and then coat your apples. Plus doing it yourself means you can add whatever toppings you like. Read on to learn how to impress your family and amaze your friends with your own tasty caramel apples!

  • Step 1: Choose Your Apples

    • Making a caramel apple is about pairing the sweetness of caramel with the right apple. It's exquisite to pair a tart apple with a sweet exterior. Of course, if you can't stand tart apples, then pick a sweeter one - you have plenty of choices! However, you want to eschew varietals like Red Delicious, which lacks the firmness required for caramel apples, and Rome Beauty, which is primarily used in baking. Recommended apples include:
    Start with a good apple. (Photo by Steve Woods)
      • Braeburn: Golden-green to red skin, firm, sweetly tart
      • Fuji: Yellow-green skin, firm, sweet
      • Golden Delicious: golden skin, firm, sweet
      • Granny Smith: green skin, very firm, tart
      • Jonathan: Yellow-red skin, firm, sweetly tart
      • Jonagold: A hybrid of Jonathan and Golden Delicious, firm skin, tangily sweet
      • Lady: Red to yellow skin, firm, sweetly tart
      • McIntosh: Reddish-green skin, firm, sweetly tart
    1. Choose smaller apples - they'll be easier to make, easier to eat, and will give you a better caramel to apple ratio!
    2. Store-bought apples are usually coated with wax, which makes it more difficult to coat them. If possible, buy apples at a farmer's market. Or you can go apple picking and get your own fresh off the tree!
    3. If you have no choice but to use wax-coated apples, quickly dip them in boiling water and then wipe away the wax coating.
    4. Chill the apples in the refrigerator until you're ready to start cooking.

  • Step 2: Gather Your Equipment

    • There are two ways to get the caramel to coat your apples: make your own (which is time-intensive, but delicious), or melt caramel candies. Either way you get the fun of coating apples and adding additional tasty toppings.
    (Photo by D. Carlton)

  • General Supplies

    • Even if you're not making caramel, you'll still want to have these things on hand before you start cooking:
    1. Wooden skewers or popsicle sticks
      • Buy them at your local grocery or party supply store.
      • You can also buy bamboo skewers and cut them in half.
    2. Pot for making or melting caramel
    3. Tray or baking sheet (for completed apples)
      • Aluminum foil: you'll need this if you do not want to put your finished apples directly on an oiled baking sheet, tray, or serving platter.
      • Alternatively, you can top your baking sheet with a silpat mat.
    4. Wooden spoon
    5. Extra bowls, if adding additional toppings
    6. Another pot or bowl for melting chocolate, if adding it to apples

  • Caramel Making Equipment

    • If you've decided to make your own caramel, you'll also need the following tools:
    1. Second container, bigger than your cooking pot
      • You'll fill this pot with hot water to create a bain-marie (a hot water bath, which keeps the contents of the submerged container warm) for your cooking pot when making your own caramel.
      • If your second container cannot be used to boil water, you'll need a teakettle or another pot in which to boil water.
    2. Measuring cups and spoons
    3. Candy thermometer
      • A candy thermometer is very important, especially if you're making caramel for the first time. You'll need it to make sure your heated sugar reaches the right stage of completion.
      • Make sure your thermometer's accurate: being off by just a few degrees can mean the difference between delicious and burnt. To check its accuracy, clip on your candy thermometer and set a pot of water to boil. The thermometer should read 212 degrees Fahrenheit/100 degrees Celsius when the water is boiling. If not, note what temperature it reads at and adjust for the difference.
    4. Pastry brush, to keep sugar from crystallizing as you work.

  • Step 3: Prepare Your Workspace

    • Before you start working with caramel, make sure you have everything ready and near at hand. If you scramble to get something while the caramel's on the stove, you risk burning it.
    1. Butter your baking sheet or tray (or aluminum foil) so it's ready to hold coated apples.
    2. Set out dishes with any additional toppings you plan to put on the apples after they're caramel-coated. Possible toppings include:
      • (Photos by Stefanie K, Neil Gould, Chad Spaulding, Matthew Green and Jeffrey Collingwood)
      1. Nuts
      2. Sprinkles
      3. Toffee bits
      4. Chocolate chips
      5. Candy corn
      6. Marshmallows
      7. Dried fruit, such as apricots, cranberries, cherries or raisins
      8. Candy, including M&M's, chopped candy bars like Snickers, Butterfinger, or Baby Ruth
      9. Jelly beans
      10. Gummi bears
      11. Crushed cookies, such as Oreos or graham crackers (crushed cookies at the base of your apple can form a stand, so it won't topple over)
      12. Granola
      13. Trail Mix
      14. Kosher salt

  • Get Your Apples Ready

    1. Check for firmness and bruising before using.
    2. Remove the stems from good apples.
    3. Wash and dry your apples.
    4. Insert the wooden skewers or popsicle sticks.

  • Melting Caramel Candies

    1. Unwrap the candies from a 14oz bag.
    2. Melt them, over a low heat, while stirring in two tablespoons of milk, water, or cream.
    3. When the caramels have melted into a smooth liquid, they're ready to use. Please go to the next step for tips on coating your apples.

  • Ingredients to Make Your Own Caramel

    (Photo by Mahalo)
    1. Brown sugar (1 and 1/2 cups)
    2. Butter (1 and 1/2 tbsp)
    3. Milk, cream or water (6 tbsp)
    4. Vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon)
    (Photo by Mahalo)
    1. Brown sugar (1 cup)
      • You can use regular sugar, but brown sugar gives a deeper caramel flavor.
    2. Corn syrup (1/2 cup)
      • Use either light or dark corn syrup. Dark corn syrup has a stronger flavor.
    3. Milk (1/2 cup)
    4. Cream (1/4 cup)
    5. Condensed milk (1/2 cup)
    6. Butter (2 tbsp.)
    7. Vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)

  • Making Your Own Caramel

    1. Choose one of the recipes above.
    2. Set your pastry brush in a cup of warm water.
    3. Add the ingredients listed above, except the vanilla extract, to a saucepan.
    4. Cook over medium-high heat.
    5. While the candy cooks, boil water in the second pot or teakettle for your bain marie.
      • If using a teakettle, fill your second container when the water is boiling.
    6. Stir the caramel until the mixture reaches 236 degrees Fahrenheit, brushing the pot's sides with a wet pastry brush as necessary (to prevent crystals from forming).
    7. When it's at the right temperature, place the pot with the caramel in the waiting bain marie.
      • Take the bain marie away from any heat source at this point, if you haven't already.
    8. Stir in vanilla.

  • Step 5: Coat Your Apples

    • Now that your caramel is ready, it's time to coat your apples!
    (Photo by Mahalo)
    1. Dip the apples in the liquid caramel.
      • Tilt the pot and spoon caramel over the apples as necessary for full coating.
      • Work quickly, before the caramel cools and solidifies.
      • If caramel gets too solid to work with, whip in a tablespoon of cream over low heat until it's workable once more.
    2. If using additional toppings, dip each apple in them right after it's been coated.
    3. Place apples on the waiting tray or sheet.
    4. When all your apples are coated, place them in the refrigerator to cool.
    • Once your apples have cooled, you can eat and enjoy! Make sure to eat them within three days of making them.
    • If you're giving the apples as gifts, you can place them in plastic or cellophane bags (once they've cooled) and tie off with ribbons.

  • More Ways to Make Caramel Apples

    • If you want to give your caramel apples an extra kick, here are a few ideas:

  • Flavored Caramel

    • Flavor your caramel for an interesting twist on your caramel apple.
    1. Vanilla extract goes perfectly with caramel; double your vanilla for more vanilla taste.
    2. Add maple extract for a fall-like flavor.
    3. Add peanut butter, as in this recipe.
    4. If you're melting caramel candies, melt chocolate caramels instead of regular ones!

  • Caramel Apple Variations

    • Re-create a popular flavor combination:
    1. Turtle Caramel Apples: Add pecans and chocolate on top
    2. Rocky Road Caramel Apples: Marshmallows, chocolate, and pecans
    3. Peanut Butter Crunch Apples: Peanut butter cookies and chocolate drizzles
    4. S'Mores Apples: Marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers
    5. Seattle Caramel Apples: Trail mix and chocolate chips
    6. Cherry Almond Caramel Apples: Almonds, cherries, and chocolate
    7. Sweet and Salty Caramel Apples: Chocolate and sea salt

  • Chocolate Caramel Apples

    • You can always dip your apples in a second layer of milk or dark chocolate. If you're not a fan of chocolate, use white chocolate for your coating instead. Then, if you wish, add a third layer of crushed nuts or candies.
    • You'll want to use the highest quality chocolate you can afford. 12 ounces will cover approximately six mid-size apples.
    (Photo by Chad Spaulding)
    1. As your caramel apples cool (on their buttered baking sheet or aluminum foil), melt chocolate.
      • Your apples should cool in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
      • You can melt chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, or by putting chocolate in a microwave-safe container and microwaving.
      • As long as you pay attention to the chocolate, and stir regularly, there's no need for a double boiler.
    2. When your chocolate's melted, remove the pan from heat (or take the bowl out of the microwave!).
    3. Insert your caramel apples, tilting and dipping as necessary to completely cover the apple.
    4. If you desire, add toppings to the apple before the chocolate solidifies.
    5. When all your apples are coated, place the apples back in the refrigerator to set.

  • More Caramel Apple Ideas

    1. Melt chocolate and drizzle it over your caramel apple with a spoon. Try to form a web-like pattern of chocolate.
    2. Martha Stewart suggests creating spun sugar and using it to create web-like strands around your apple.
      • Be cautious working with spun sugar, it is extremely hot!
    3. Instead of coating whole apples, create a caramel dip and provide guests with apple wedges, as in this recipe.

  • Caramel Apples with Mahalo Daily


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