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Candy Apple Recipe. This post contains affiliate links to products I use and recommend. By making a purchase I may receive a small commission.
Over the past few weeks I have made close to 100 candy apples. I think I could consider myself a pro at this point. I admit some apples made their way to the trash, on one occasion I burnt the mixture and I even had the sugar mixture boil over… all over my stove. Yes it was trial and error but now I know the dos and do not’s of making the perfect candy apple!
Candy Apple Tips and Tricks
- Do not walk away from the mixture. It will do evil things like rapidly rise above the 305 degrees and burn OR boil over. If it boils over you will spend countless minutes of your life trying to scrub it off the stove.
- Spin, spin and spin some more. Spin the apples into the mixture and continue to spin after you have taken out of the mixture. Gently knock the stick onto the side of the pot to reduce bubbles from forming.
- Buy a candy thermometer!! I found mine on Amazon for $7. I tried the water testing method and it worked the first time but not the second time. It isn’t completely reliable. With the thermometer I can get them perfect every time.
- Add any food coloring color you want for different colors. I made green for wicked candy apples and I made red for my niece’s county fair themed birthday party.
- Add flavored extract if you want. I used strawberry extract and it was a hit.
- If you have leftover candy after all of your apples have been dipped you can always pour it into a small dish lined with parchment paper and let it cool. Gently break the large piece of candy into smaller pieces to make hard candy.
- If you are not going to eat the candy apples right away buy the bags and wrap them up. I’m not sure if it is the high humidity here in Florida but I left a batch out overnight and when I woke up the next morning they were sticky to the touch after being NOT sticky the night before.
- 305 degrees is hard crack and I like to make mine that way so that the candy doesn’t get caught in my teeth like they would with soft crack.
Candy Apple Recipe
- 8-10 apples – wash and dry
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 3/4 cup water
- food coloring ((optional))
- flavor extract ((optional))
- Place a bamboo skewer into each apple. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and have it ready for the candy apples to cool on.
- Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, food coloring and flavor extract into a large saucepan over high heat with a candy thermometer.
- Allow the mixture to come to a boil and then turn down to medium high heat and let it continue to bubble and reach 305 degrees (hard crack on a candy thermometer)
- Once the temperature is reached remove the mixture from the stove and dip the apples in one at a time. You want to spin them in the mixture until well coated and then remove them and continue to spin so the excess mixture falls back into the saucepan.
- Place the apples onto the parchment lined cookie sheet to cool. Serve immediately or wrap within a few hours. They will last about 2-3 days at room temperature.
Supplies Needed- Candy thermometer, bamboo sticks and parchment paper
Happy Candy Apple making my friends! If you have any questions leave them in the comments below!
How do you keep apples from oozing their juice from where the stick is inserted.
Hey I made about 75 candy apples last night that was beautiful, I woke up this morning and some had cracked. Any ideas or suggestions on what I did wrong?