Description
This recipe for Easy Homemade Candy Apples offers a delightful and colorful treat perfect for holidays or special occasions. Crisp apples are coated in a glossy, hard candy shell made from sugar, corn syrup, and water, with a touch of vibrant red food coloring. The candy coating hardens to a satisfying crunch, making these classic candy apples a fun and nostalgic sweet snack.
Ingredients
Scale
Apples
- 12 small red or green apples (any variety)
- 12 lollipop or popsicle sticks
Candy Coating
- 3 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
Instructions
- Prepare the Apples: Wash and thoroughly dry the apples to ensure the candy coating adheres well. Insert the lollipop or popsicle sticks firmly into the apples. Arrange the apples on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and lightly coated with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Make the Candy Syrup: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Bring the mixture to a boil, carefully monitoring with a candy thermometer. Continue cooking until the temperature reaches 300ºF, the hard crack stage, indicating the syrup is ready to set hard.
- Add Food Coloring: Remove the saucepan from heat and carefully stir in the red food coloring. Be cautious as the hot syrup may splash. Depending on the strength of your food coloring, you may need to add more than the initial 1/2 teaspoon for vibrant color.
- Coat the Apples: One at a time, dip each apple into the hot candy mixture, swirling to coat evenly. Allow any excess syrup to drip back into the pan. Place the coated apples on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Cool and Set: Let the candy-coated apples cool completely at room temperature until the candy shell has hardened, forming a shiny, crunchy coating around each apple.
Notes
- Add color and crunch to your holiday table with this simple and fun recipe for Easy Homemade Candy Apples.
- Ensure apples are completely dry before dipping to help the candy coating stick properly.
- Use a candy thermometer for accurate temperature to achieve the perfect hard crack stage.
- Be very careful when working with hot sugar syrup to avoid burns.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 candy apple
- Calories: 328 kcal
- Sugar: 79 g
- Sodium: 12 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 86 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
