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With these tips and tricks, you will have beautiful (and DELICIOUS) homemade gourmet caramel apples in no time.
I know caramel apples are an especially popular dessert during the fall, but I crave them all year! I love the flavor so much, I have a Fudge and a Dip that are both caramel and apple flavored!
A Favorite Family Treat
I LOVE (like super-duper LOVE) caramel apples! They are heaven on earth for me! It’s one of my favorite treats.
And every time we go somewhere like Disneyland or on vacation, they are pretty much a “MUST-PURCHASE” item (our all-time favorite is the Apple Pie Caramel Apple!). We usually buy one for the whole family to slice up and share, and I’m happy to say my love for these guys has officially been passed down to the kids.
Of course, I couldn’t say no when they requested these candy coated apples for a family night dessert last week. I’ve made them a ton in the past, but have never loved how they turned out.
I did quite a bit of research and practice for this homemade recipe, and have now come up with some great tips for perfect caramel apples.
How to Make Caramel Apples
Start this simple recipe by prepping the apples!
PREP APPLES. Wash apples and let them dry completely. This will help remove the wax that is on the apple skin, allowing the caramel to stick better.
Remove apple stems and insert skewers or popsicle sticks 1–2 inches in.
Place apples on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 1–2 hours.
CARAMEL. In the top of a double boiler or in a medium pot over low heat, combine caramels and water and cook, stirring the entire time, until caramel is fully melted and reaches about 240°F, 12–14 minutes.
DIP. Working one at a time, hold an apple by the stick, tilt the pot at an angle, and swirl apple in caramel to coat. Gently tap to let excess caramel drip off, then place apple back on parchment paper. Once all apples have been dipped, refrigerate again for 30 minutes.
DECORATE. Once caramel has set, you can enjoy your apples as they are, or you can dip in melted candy coating, sprinkle on any desired toppings, and let set at room temperature.
Store apples refrigerated but remove from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving.
caramel apple toppings
Once the caramel is set, easily add some optional candy coating and toppings to your homemade caramel apples.
Chocolate. Use dark chocolate or milk chocolate for a darker coating. Dip them in vanilla or white chocolate candy coating which can be left white or add food coloring.
- Dip in the melted candy coating, then in your toppings. Put them back in the fridge to set up. Make sure you take them out 30 minutes before serving, so they’re at just the right temperature to eat!
Some topping ideas. Garnish your apples with any of these tasty ideas:
- sprinkles
- chopped nuts like peanuts, pecans, walnuts, or slivered almonds
- mini M&M’s, mini Reeses, mini chocolate chips, or mini marshmallows
- shredded coconut
- crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch, graham crackers, Butterfingers, pretzels, or Oreos
- Candy Corn
Recipe Tips
Making caramel apples is simple, and these tips can help!
Apples. No matter if you prefer tart or sweet, be sure the apples you choose are firm and bruise-free. Here’s a guide to help you choose what apples you might like:
- sweet: Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Empire, or Golden Delicious
- mildly tart: McIntosh, Paula Red, Wealthy, or Rome Beauty
- tart: Granny Smith, Cortland, Melrose, or Winesap
- sweet and tart: Jazz, Pink Lady, or Jonagold
Caramel. Even though I had lots of apples, I melted the caramels one bag at a time because I wanted to make sure it worked out and that the caramel stayed hot for the entire process. It starts to cool after a while, so I was glad I did just one bag at a time.
Homemade double boiler. This is easy to make using a small saucepan and a glass or metal heat-safe bowl. How to melt caramel for apples:
- Bring 2 inches of water to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low heat.
- Place the bowl on top, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.
- Add the store-bought caramels and water to the bowl. The steam from the water will heat the bowl melting the caramel.
I like this method because the caramel sauce stays warm without fearing that it will scorch. Use a clean bowl if you are going to melt chocolate for another coating.
Storing Caramel Apples
STORE. Apples that have not been pierced with a stick can last at room temperature for about 7 days.
Apples that have a stick should be kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Use a container that will allow for airflow. Cut the apples and keep them in an airtight container. Treat the apple slices with lemon juice or use a fresh fruit produce protector found at the grocery store to help keep them from browning.
FREEZE. Freezing these apples is not recommended.
Recipe FAQ
After you’ve dipped the apple in caramel and put it in the refrigerator, you may notice that some of the caramel slid down and settled at the bottom of the apple creating a “caramel foot”. To get rid of this, trim away larger pieces, then, using your fingers, gently smooth out the remainder of the caramel.
If you’re having trouble keeping the caramel on the apples, try the following: Keep the caramel just hot enough to melt together, but not too hot that it slides right off. Once you wash the wax off of the apple, use fine-grit sandpaper to rough up the skin, but do not break the skin. This will make “grooves” for the caramel to cling to. Make sure the apples are cold and dry.
Wilton has some AWESOME patterned lollipop sticks; I’ve seen them at my local Walmart and Kroger/Fry’s. They are so fun, sturdy, and totally do the trick. I stuck mine in about an inch or two. I also found apple sticks in different colors on Amazon if you can’t find them at your local stores.
For More Caramel Apple Recipes, Check Out:
- Black Candy Apples
- Caramel Apple Nachos
- Apple Pie Caramel Apple
- Caramel Apple Fudge
- Caramel Apple Dip
Caramel Apples Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 skewers or popsicle sticks
- 6 apples Granny Smith, Fuji or Honeycrisp
- 1 (11-ounce) bag Brach’s Milk Maid caramels, unwrapped
- 3 tablespoons water
- melted white chocolate candy coating optional
Toppings
- sprinkles, chopped nuts, crushed candy optional
Instructions
- Wash apples and let them dry completely. This will help remove the wax that is on the apple skin, allowing the caramel to stick better.
- Remove apple stems and insert skewers or popsicle sticks 1–2 inches in.
- Place apples on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 1–2 hours.
- In the top of a double boiler or in a medium pot over low heat, combine caramels and water and cook, stirring the entire time, until caramel is fully melted and reaches about 240°F, 12–14 minutes.
- Working one at a time, hold an apple by the stick, tilt the pot at an angle, and swirl apple in caramel to coat. Gently tap to let excess caramel drip off, then place apple back on parchment paper. Once all apples have been dipped, refrigerate again for 30 minutes.
- Once caramel has set, you can enjoy your apples as they are, or you can dip in melted candy coating, sprinkle on any desired toppings, and let set at room temperature.
- Store apples refrigerated but remove from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
Other topping ideas. The possibilities are endless—try topping these with mini M&M’s, mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, shredded coconut, crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, crushed graham crackers, crushed Butterfingers, or crushed Oreos.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made these yesterday for the kids’ afternoon snack and they had a blast! They super love and enjoy them! Definitely making these again this Sunday for our Fam gathering!
My kids had so much fun making these caramel apples! We cut them into slices and enjoyed them with cider! So good!
This is such an amazing way to enjoy apples! Amazing!