It's finally October and the beginning of my favorite time of year! I love decorating for Halloween and making a spooky Halloween charcuterie board. But if you want to make this time of year even sweeter, grab the kids (or grandkids) and make some Gourmet Caramel
Yes, you can buy pre-made candy apples or taffy apples at the store, but where's the fun in that? Making these made-from-scratch gourmet caramel apples at home can be a fun family project that you'll look forward to every fall! You may also want to try this 5-minute cream cheese caramel apple dip!
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- When making your own Gourmet Caramel Apples, you decide what toppings to use. If you don't see your favorite topping listed in my recipe, just substitute your favorite topping in step six of the recipe.
- Melting caramels is much easier than preparing homemade caramel, which has a tendency to separate. The best part? You don't need a candy thermometer!
- Caramel apples can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated. You'll need to set them out for a bit to get the caramel to soften a bit before sinking your teeth into one!
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Your favorite apple variety: I prefer Granny Smith apples because their tart flavor contrasts well with the other sweet ingredients.
- Caramel candy: Instead of making caramel sauce from scratch, we'll melt caramel candy to dip the apples into!
- Toppings: Crushed candy, mini M & M's, toasted coconut, ground peanuts, and more. See other topping suggestions in this post!
🔪 Helpful Tools
- medium pot or saucepan
- cookie sheet
- candy thermometer
🍏 How to Make Caramel Apples
Step 1: Remove the stems from the apples and replace them with popsicle sticks, wooden sticks, or reusable plastic treat sticks.
Step 2: Place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper over a baking sheet. Spread the softened butter over the waxed paper and set aside.
Step 3: Boil water in a medium saucepan. Dip apples, one at a time, into the water for 10 seconds; wipe dry with a paper towel.
Pro Tip: Dipping the apples in very hot water helps to remove the wax off the apples, which in turn helps the caramel to stick to the apples.
Step 4: Place the caramel apple toppings (toffee bits, mini M&M's, Butterfinger bits, and chopped peanuts) into their own individual bowls.
Step 5: Unwrap caramels and add them to a small saucepan, along with 2 tablespoons of water. Place the saucepan over low to medium heat. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the caramel is completely melted and smooth.
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Step 6: Dip cold apples, one at a time, into the caramel sauce. Turn to coat, letting the excess caramel drip off. Quickly dip into the topping of choice, while turning the apple.
Pro Tip: If there are bare spots on an apple, spoon more caramel coating over the bare spots, then add more topping.
Step 7: Place the gourmet caramel apples on waxed paper or parchment paper and allow them to set for approximately 30 minutes.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Unlike baking a pie, I don't think there is a wrong apple to use when it comes to making candied apples.
I believe that Granny Smith apples are usually used to balance out the tartness of the apples with the sweetness of the caramel and toppings.
However, if you prefer Honey Crisp, Gala, Fuji, or my personal favorite, Pink Ladies, go for it! There are no "gourmet caramel apple police" the last time I checked!
Dip apples, one at a time, into boiling water for 10 seconds and wipe dry. This process helps to remove the wax from the apples, which in turn helps the caramel to stick to the apples.
Undipped caramel apples are good for up to a week, whether stored on the counter or in the refrigerator.
Dipped caramel apples, however, are best when eaten within the first few days. Especially when using ingredients that can taste stale after a few days, for example, shredded coconut or candy bits.
🥜 Gourmet Caramel Apples Topping Ideas
As you can tell, I like mixing things up. I don't always take the traditional path when it comes to my candied apple recipe.
Don't get me wrong, I love a juicy apple, covered with gooey caramel and crunchy peanuts as much as anybody. Yet, I also enjoy playing around with other flavors.
One of my favorite flavors is toffee. Mini M&M's might be a bit too sweet for my taste, but kids love them. Not to mention, they sure do look festive! Some like adding sprinkles, but I've never been a sprinkle-kind of girl. Rather, I prefer some of the following toppings:
- toasted coconut
- nuts (ground pecans, almonds, walnuts)
- Reese’s pieces
- crushed pretzel pieces
- mini marshmallows
- Oreo crumbles or other cookie crumbs
- melted chocolate
- mini white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or butterscotch chocolate chips
- cinnamon sugar
- dark chocolate or semi-sweet milk chocolate for chocolate drizzles
So, what's your favorite topping?
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Choose small to medium apples. Smaller apples will be easier to cover with the hot caramel and easier to eat.
- To help the caramel stick to the gourmet caramel apples, place the apples in the fridge for an hour or so prior to dipping them. The caramel will harden much more quickly when the apples are cold.
- Once you're done dipping the apple into the caramel sauce, scrape the bottom of the apple to remove excess caramel.
- Caramel apples can be refrigerated, however, they should not be frozen.
- Although you can use popsicle or lollipop sticks, I used reusable treat sticks that I purchased at Walmart (made by Wilton)
- If you find this recipe too advanced or time-consuming, you can always try Nena's how to make a simple caramel apple bar recipe, no skill required.
🍎 More Apple Recipes
If you love making these gourmet caramel apples, check out these related posts!
📖 Recipe
Gourmet Caramel Apples
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon softened butter
- 5 medium Granny Smith apples (or a variety of apples)
- ½ cup toffee bits
- ½ cup mini M&M's
- ½ cup butterfinger bits
- ½ cup chopped peanuts
- 1 11 oz. bag Kraft caramels
Instructions
- Remove the stems from the apples and replace them with popsicle sticks, wooden sticks, or reusable plastic treat sticks.
- Place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper over a baking sheet. Spread the softened butter over the waxed paper and set aside.
- Boil water in a medium saucepan. Dip apples, one at a time, into boiling water for 10 seconds; wipe dry. This process helps to remove the wax off the apples, which in turn helps the caramel to stick to the apples.
- Place the caramel apple toppings (toffee bits, mini M&M's, butter-finger bits, and chopped peanuts) into their own individual bowls.
- Unwrap caramels and add them to a small saucepan, along with 2 tablespoons of water. Place the saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently until the caramel is completely melted and smooth.
- Dip cold apples, one at a time, into the caramel sauce. Turn to coat, letting the excess caramel drip off. Quickly dip into the topping of choice, while turning the apple.
- Place apples on waxed paper and allow to set for approximately 30 minutes.
Notes
- If there are bare spots on an apple, spoon more caramel coating over the bare spots then add more topping.
- To help the caramel to stick to the gourmet caramel apples, place the apples in the fridge for an hour or so prior to dipping them. The caramel will harden much more quickly when the apples are cold.
- Caramel apples can be refrigerated, however, they should not be frozen.
- Although you can use popsicle or lollipop sticks, I used reusable treat sticks that I purchased at Walmart (made by Wilton).
Kelly Methey says
I love candy apples! I haven’t had one in years, this recipe is going to fix that! The possibilities are endless with the toppings! What a fun thing to do with kiddos and adults! Thanks for reminding me how good they are. Can’t wait to make these and bite into all that gooey goodness!
Anne Herrington says
YUM
HildaSterner says
Yes! You should make some with Judah!