apples Archives

Ooey Gooey Caramel Apple Nachos

Sliced apples and a homemade caramel sauce make a delicious version of nachos. Caramel Apple Nachos. We dare you to resist that!

Is there anything better than apples dipped in caramel? How about apples dripping with drizzled caramel? Oh man!

I couldn’t resist putting a spin on caramel apples with these yummy Caramel Apple Nachos. They make a great after-school snack for the kiddos or a plate to pass at any fall gathering.

Layers of sliced apples are topped with easy, creamy homemade caramel sauce and sprinkled with chopped nuts. Any topping is fair game so go ahead and sprinkle with chopped chocolate, peanut butter chips or even M&M’s.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats a homemade caramel sauce. The ingredients are simple and the sauce comes together in no time. But wow is it ever the most decadent, thick and creamy caramel you’ve ever tasted. It’s so good you’ll eat it with a spoon. Promise.

You’ll only need about ½ cup to drizzle over the apples, so go ahead and serve some on the side for any caramel apple dunkers who find that a drizzle is never enough.

Ooey Gooey Caramel Apple Nachos with Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce

Contributor: Jenn Dempsey

Sliced apples and a homemade caramel sauce make a delicious version of nachos. Caramel Apple Nachos. We dare you to resist that!

Author: Jenn Dempsey
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

CARAMEL SAUCE (MAKES 1 CUP)*

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract
½ tsp. fleur de sel or coarse salt (optional)

NACHOS

1 ½ lbs. firm apples, any variety
1/2 of a lemon, juiced
½ cup homemade caramel sauce
¼ cup chopped unsalted dry roasted peanuts

Instructions

CARAMEL SAUCE

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add in brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Whisk in cream and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce sauce to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes stirring frequently until sauce is smooth and creamy.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Allow sauce to cool slightly before transferring to a jar or small bowl. Sauce will thicken as it cools.
For salted caramel, stir in salt when caramel is removed from heat. Once cool, cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
To reheat, place caramel sauce in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 20-30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until creamy. Drizzle over any dessert.

NACHOS

Core and slice apples about ½-inch thick. Lightly toss apples in lemon juice to prevent browning.
Arrange a single layer of sliced apples on a 10-inch serving dish. Drizzle with a third of the caramel sauce and sprinkle with a third of the chopped nuts. Repeat layer twice. Serve immediately.

Notes

*Short on time? Use a good quality store bought caramel sauce and you can whip these nachos up in a snap.

Meet the sweet cousin of nachos. Caramel Apple Nachos. #thecookful

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This post originally appeared in October, 2015 and was revised and republished in September, 2016.

10 Ways to Stop Apples from Browning

By Amy Bowen

No one likes brown apples. Sure, it’s perfectly natural, but it can kill an appetite. But dig in your pantry. You probably have an ingredient that can banish brown fruit forever.

Brown apples is not an issue for candy apples. The apples never get sliced and never get the chance to turn brown. So why are we telling you about this here in our Candy Apple topic? Because we have some recipes coming up in the days ahead that use sliced apples. One is for Caramel Apple Nachos and one is for Caramel Apple Slices. Haha! I bet you want to see those right now! Hold your horses! They’re coming. First, here are our tips for preventing brown apples.

These tips are for slicing apples ahead of time to have in your fridge when you’re ready for them. Most of the solutions will work to keep apples unbrown once drained and served as well. See the bonus tip at the bottom for that info.

Oh, and FYI, cut apples can stay fresh for up to a week if kept in one of these solutions.

Prevent Brown Apples

1. Mix 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into 1 cup of cold water. Keep your apples in the solution until ready to use.

2. Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of salt into 1 quart of water.

[Read more…]

Candy Apple Tips and Tricks

By Amy Bowen

Chilling, timing and caramel (lots of caramel) make candy apples a breeze to make. Here are our best tips to make yours deeeelicious.

We love the end result of candy apples. But making them can be just as much fun. A few simple tips makes the process simple.

Make Delicious Candy Apples

1. Wash your apples. It removes a waxy film that makes apples look extra shiny in the store (ew, gross). Washing the apples helps the caramel stick better too. And let’s be honest. The more caramel, the better.

2. Chill your apples to help the caramel or chocolate coatings stick. Give them at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

3. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to my caramel apples. I hate those puddles of caramel that harden around the tops. This tip prevents that. After dipping your apples, hold them upside down to let the excess caramel drip off. Place on parchment paper. Chill for 15 minutes.

4. Don’t throw away that extra candy coating. Make our delicious candy apple candy.

5. To get a nice chocolate drizzle on your apples, put melted chocolate in a ziptop bag and cut a small hole in one bottom corner. Squeeze and drizzle to your heart’s content. [Read more…]

Candy Apples Around the World

By Amy Bowen

Caramel apples, toffee apples — whatever you call them, candy apples are a favorite snack anywhere you go.

Well, this totally makes my day. Candy apples are a favorite snack around the world. You might even call it the international language of snacking.

1. We call it a candy apple in the United States and Canada. The terms candy apple and caramel apple are often used interchangeably.

2. Thank William Kolb of Newark for creating the America’s first candy apple in 1908. He was an enterprising candy maker, who displayed bright red candy apples in his store’s window over Christmas. People wanted to buy the the apples (which were for display purposes only), so he started making the apples for sale. The apples sold out every year.

3. A traditional candy apple has a hard sugar coating, with a cinnamon flavor.

4. On Coney Island, you can find jelly apples, which have a soft cherry-flavored coating.

5. National Candy/Caramel Apple Day is Halloween. As if we need another reason to celebrate.

6. Outside of North America, Candy apples are usually called toffee apples.

[Read more…]

Apple Cider Bourbon Caramel Apples with Bacon

By Samantha Seeley

Candy apples with bourbon? And bacon? Say what? Ha! Just say YES!

There are so many options for candy apples. Why not add some bourbon and make a grown-up version that you can shamelessly enjoy?

I used boiled cider as the base of the caramel sauce. Have you ever had boiled cider? It’s basically a thick syrup made from a single ingredient: Apple cider. I bet you’re totally digging that one ingredient thing, right?

After you boil down the cider, you add in the normal makings of caramel sauce (butter, cream, sugar) and if you want a really grown up flavor for entertaining this fall, throw in a tablespoon of bourbon.

You can then use the sauce in a variety of recipes, including these grown up Apple Cider Bourbon Caramel Apples. Make them crazier by adding spicy spiced pecans and crispy bacon on top.

The flavors in this recipe are explosive and all mingle well together. Just remember to add the bourbon in last so the flavor really stays with those caramel apples.

Apple Cider Bourbon Caramel Apples with Bacon

Contributor: Samantha Seeley

Candy apples with bourbon? And bacon? Say what? Ha! Just say YES!

Author: Samantha Seeley
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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2 cups apple cider
1 cup light brown sugar
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
½ tsp. salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. bourbon
6 apples, any variety
Cooked bacon, crumbled
Spiced pecans

Instructions

In a medium sized saucepan, boil the apple cider on medium-high heat until you are left with about ½ of a cup.
Add the light brown sugar and stir until sugar has melted. Once the sugar has melted, add the butter and salt and let the butter melt.
Remove from heat and add in the heavy cream, it’ll bubble. As it is bubbling, stir until the bubbles dissipate. Stir in the bourbon and transfer the caramel sauce into a small bowl, set aside in the fridge to cool.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and coat in cooking spray. Wash and remove the stem from the apples and push a stick in the top. Remove the caramel from the fridge and take the first apple by the stick and dip into the caramel sauce and rotate until the apple is fully coated with sauce.
Place dipped apple onto prepared pan and top with crispy bacon and/or spiced pecans. Repeat with remaining apples.

Take a sip, add bourbon to your caramel sauce, take a sip. Ha! #thecookful

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This post originally appeared in October, 2015 and was revised and republished in September, 2016.

How To Make Caramel Apples

By Christine Pittman

Who knew that making homemade caramel apples was so easy? Now we know and we think you should find out too!

We’ve been talking a lot about candy apples. Now it’s time to turn to their gooier cousins, caramel apples. These guys are even tastier (imho!) than candy apples but are just as easy to make. The basic procedure is the same for candy apples, just with different ingredients and a different cooking temperature. Head over here for a step-by-step guide to making candy apples, with pictures so that you have a better idea how to do the below recipe.

For the caramel apples, what you do is mix together heavy cream, corn syrup, unsalted butter and sugar and then heat it on high until it’s bubbling. Then keep heating it on high until it reaches 244-248ºF (the firm ball stage of candy-making). Note that I don’t find this to be a dark enough caramel. I advise you to use a spoon to push aside the frothy bubbles at the top of your pot (carefully) and check the color of the syrup underneath. If it’s really pale, let it go a bit longer. It’s going to be fine if you caramel reaches the hard ball stage (think nougat) between 250-266ºF.

When the caramel is the right color and temperature, remove it from the heat and (again, carefully!) add a bit more heavy cream and some vanilla. Swirl it around. Dip in your stick-stabbed apples and hold them over the pot to get rid of some drips. Then place them on a greased parchment paper to harden. Or, before they harden, dip them in your favorite toppings. We have exciting topping ideas on this site. Head over here for a bunch of classic chocolate bar-inspired toppings. Yum!

How To Make Caramel Apples

Contributor: Christine Pittman

Who knew that making homemade caramel apples was so easy? Now we know and we think you should find out too!

Author: Christine Pittman
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

1 cup heavy cream, divided
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
baking spray
6 apples

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

Instructions

In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan mix together 3/4 cups of the heavy cream, the corn syrup, butter, sugar and vanilla. Attach a candy thermometer to the pan and make sure the tip is in the syrup but not touching the bottom or side of the pan. Heat on high over high heat until it reaches between 244-248ºF. At that point, use a spoon to carefully move away some of the light froth on top to see the color of the syrup below. If it’s a dark enough caramel color for you, like peanut butter is ideal, remove it from the heat. If not, let it heat a bit longer until that color is reached. Remove from heat. Carefully add the remaining 1/4 cup cream and the vanilla. Swirl gently to combine.
While the caramel is cooking, put parchment paper on a cooking sheet. Spray it with baking spray. Wash and dry the apples. Insert sticks through stem end. If the sticks are long, go ahead and push them all the way into the apple, without going through the other end. if they’re shorter, halfway into the apple works.
Wait for the caramel to stop bubbling. Then hold an apple by the stick and roll it in the sauce. You may need to tilt your pan to make the sauce deep enough to coat the apple. Once coated, hold the apple over the pan and shake gently to remove excess sauce. (At this point you can dip your apple in toppings like nuts and sprinkles, if desired). Place the apple stick up on the prepared baking sheet until it has hardened. Repeat with remaining apples. If you don’t use all the sauce, it can be refrigerated and then reheated gently to coat more apples.

Who knew that caramel apples were so so so easy to make? Well, I know now. Thanks #thecookful!

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Which Types of Apples to Use for Candy Apples

By Amy Bowen

There are so many varieties of apples. Which ones are best to coat in sweet candy love?

I bet our How to Make Candy Apples tutorial has you hankering for some candy apple crunch. But not every apple makes for a good candy apple.

You want one with a strong apple flavor that can break through all the chocolate, caramel or candy. Look for these apple varieties at your grocery.

Empire: Mildly tart flavor, with some sweet undertones. This apple is firm, which means it will give you a satisfying crunch when you take a bite. This was developed in New York, although it is a popular apple in Britain.

[Read more…]

How to Make Candy Apples

By Christine Pittman

Learn how to make candy apples with us. It’s not hard. It’s actually crazy-easy. Promise!

Candy apples – sweet, tart and crunchy. Brilliantly, brightly red. Sooooo shiny. Geez, they’re just plain freaking fun. It turns out they’re easy to make too. Don’t let the candy-making process scare you. Really, you’re just going to mix together a few ingredients and then put them over high heat on the stove until they reach the right temperature. Stay close but there’s no need to even stir. Then dip your apples in and set them down to dry. Done! (If you’re hooked on candy-making after that, next step…learn how to make Classic Popcorn balls!)

Three red apples coated in candy with rustic sticks coming out of the tops.

Here’s A Video Showing How To Make Your Own Candy Apples:

I’ve included a little bonus below for you below. To make your apple bottoms special you pour demerara sugar onto a baking sheet. Set the wet candy-covered apples down in it. It gives the bottoms of the apples this cool sparkly look. You can even mix some pumpkin spice in with the sugar for some Fall flavor too.

How to get sparkly golden sparkles on the bottom of your candy apples

OK, let’s get on with it.

How To Make Candy Apples:

Step#1: Make your candy syrup mixture

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan mix together 2 cups sugar, 3/4 cups water, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring (I use the gel kind, like this) and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon extract (optional). It’s actually really important that you use a heavy-bottomed saucepan. If the pan is too thin or flimsy, it won’t hold the heat enough, and then your syrup will cool too quickly. I do have another solution for that below though.

The mixture will be bright red like this.

Step#2: Heat your syrup to the hard crack stage

Set up your candy thermometer so that the tip is in the mixture and is not touching the bottom of the pot. Put it over high heat and bring it to a boil. Leave it bubbling on high. It’ll look like this.

You keep letting it bubble like that on high until it gets to be between 300ºF and 310ºF, this is the hard crack stage needed for that crunchy coating. You’re going to do some other stuff while the mixture is heating, but beware! It might seem like it’s taking forever to heat but once it gets to the 230ºF everything speeds up. So keep your eye on it while you’re multi-tasking. The whole thing will take around 20 minutes.

Step #3: Get your pan ready

While the sugar mixture is coming to temperature, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with baking spray. This is so your hot candy doesn’t stick while it’s hardening.

Step#4: Wash and dry your apples

You want your apples clean so definitely wash them well with water. But, it’s important that they not be wet at all for the candy to stick. Make sure you dry them off well.

Step#5: Get your sticks ready

I’m using some twigs here. Here are some other ideas for sticks. You can also get specialized sticks that are just for candy apples online here.

Important Tip: I also highly recommend that you put a kettle of water on to boil. Just before your syrup is ready, you’ll want to put hot water into a large bowl. If your candy syrup starts to harden too quickly so that you can’t roll apples in it properly, put the bottom of the pot into the water for a minute or two. Don’t let water get into the pot. You just want the heat from the water to warm the pot and help keep the candy warm.

Step#6: Put the sticks into the apples

Stick the sticks down into the tops of the apples. You want to get a good ways in. If your sticks are long, go all the way but not through the other end. If they’re shorter, getting halfway into the apple is good enough. If any juice comes out of the apple from piercing it with the stick, dry it off with a paper towel.

Here’s an apple on a stick!

Step#7 (optional): Make a sugar base

Mix together 1/4 cup demerara sugar and 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice (you can leave out the pumpkin spice if you want. What’s crucial is the sugar).

Sprinkle the sugar mixture onto your prepared pan.

Step#9: Dip your apples

When your candy mixture is at 310ºF, take it of the heat. Tilt your pot to the side and hold the apples by the stick to roll them one at a time in the mixture. Be careful because that sugar syrup is seriously hot. Don’t let the candy syrup get to the top of the apple where the stick is. There might be excess moistuer there, and if the candy touches it, it won’t adhere as well. After rolling the apple around, hold it up over the saucepan and shake it gently to let some excess syrup drip off.

If your syrup becomes too difficult to work with because it’s thickening, dip the bottom of the pot in a bowl of hot water for a minute. If, on the other hand, your syrup is too thin, you can wait a minute or two for it to cool slightly and start thickening.

Step#10: Let the candy harden

Put the apples on your prepared pan to harden. They’ll be hard and ready to eat within 10 minutes. It’s kind of amazing how fast it happens. And it’s amazing how good they taste!

If you want to print out these instructions, click print in the recipe box below. Or you can get the instructions and all kinds of other candy apple tips, tricks, ideas and recipes in our Candy Apple Series over here.

How to Make Candy Apples

Contributor: Christine Pittman

Learn how to make candy apples with us. It’s not hard. It’s actually crazy-easy. The main tricky part is getting the syrup to the right texture. Read the note at the bottom for a really great tip!

Listen to our editor, Christine Pittman, explain briefly how to make these candy apples, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:

★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

Author: Christine Pittman
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. red gel food coloring
baking spray
1/2 tsp. cinnamon extract (optional)
1/4 cup demerara sugar (optional)
1 tsp. pumpkin spice (optional)
6 medium apples

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

Instructions

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan mix together sugar, water, corn syrup, food coloring and extract (if using). The mixture will be bright red.
Set up your candy thermometer so that the tip is in the mixture and is not touching the bottom of the pot. Put it over high heat and bring it to a boil. Leave it bubbling on high until it gets to be between 300ºF and 310ºF. It will take around 20 minutes but keep your eye on it. It gets really fast at the end.*
While the sugar mixture is coming to temperature, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with baking spray. Wash and dry your apples. Stick the sticks down into the tops of the apples. You want to get a good ways in. If your sticks are long, go all the way but not through the other end. If they’re shorter, getting halfway into the apple is good enough.
For sparkly apple bottoms, mix together 1/4 cup demerara sugar and 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice (you can leave out the pumpkin spice if you want. What’s crucial is the sugar). Sprinkle the sugar mixture onto your prepared pan.
When your candy mixture is at 310ºF, take it of the heat. Tilt your pot to the side and hold the apples by the stick to roll them one at a time in the mixture. Be careful because that sugar syrup is very hot. After rolling the apple around, hold it up over the saucepan and shake it gently to let some excess syrup drip off. Put the apples on your prepared pan to harden. They’ll be hard and ready to eat within 10 minutes.

Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!

Notes

*The thing that makes candy apples tricky is having the right thickness for your candy syrup when you’re rolling the apples in it. One thing you can do is to heat a kettle of water and shortly before you start dipping your apples, pour the hot water into a large bowl. If your syrup is too thin and isn’t adhering to the apples, just wait a moment and try again. As the syrup cools slightly, it thickens. On the other hand, if your syrup is thickening too quickly or start to get too thick, dip the bottom of the pot into the hot water, being careful not to get any water into the candy. You just want to warm the pot a bit to warm the syrump and thin it a bit.

Vidalia, Sausage and Apple Kebabs

By Lyndsay Burginger

In my opinion, food tastes 1000x better when it’s served on a stick. And these Vidalia, sausage and apple kebabs live up to the expectation. This series is sponsored by the Vidalia Onion Committee. Vidalia Onions are available from late April through early September in grocery stores across the country. The season is short and sweet just like the delicious onions themselves, so make sure you look for them in your local retailer and learn more at www.vidaliaonion.org.

Stick it on a stick and it tastes better. Proof: Cake pops, caramel apples, even corn dogs. It’s portable which makes it the perfect thing to eat at a party, no need to juggle a plate in one hand and a glass of beer in the other. These sausage, Vidalia onion and apple kebabs are definite party food.

You first start off making a quick sauce of grainy mustard, honey, lemon juice and salt.

Then cut the Vidalia onions into wedges. Separate into layers so you can thread them onto the skewers more easily. Add on your sausage and apples and pour on your mustard sauce.

Vidalia onions taste great on the grill, especially with the addition of the robust mustard sauce. You’ll be licking it off your fingers!

Pop the skewers on the grill and wait for the stampede of happy party-goers. It’s dinner time!

Vidalia, Sausage and Apple Kebabs

Contributor: Lyndsay Burginger

In my opinion, food tastes 1000x better when it’s served on a stick. And these Vidalia, sausage and apple kebabs live up to the expectation.

Author: Christine Pittman
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

1/3 cup grainy mustard
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 medium Vidalia onion, cut into 8 wedges
8 – 6″ skewers
12 oz. fully-cooked sweet apple and chicken sausages, cut into 16 pieces
2 sweet apples, cut into 8 wedges each

Instructions

Preheat grill for direct cooking over medium heat.
In a small bowl combine the mustard, honey, lemon juice and salt.
Divide the layers of each onion wedge so that you have two pieces.
Onto a skewer thread a piece of sausage, then an apple wedge, then an onion piece. Repeat pattern. Put loaded skewer into a pan. Repeat with remaining skewers and ingredients.
Pour mustard sauce over skewers.
Put skewers on grill. Grill on one side until undersides of sausages are blackened in spots and apples have some grill marks, 3-5 minutes. Flip and grill until undersides are browned as well, another 3-5 minutes.

Vidalia, sausage and apple kebabs! Because food tastes way better on a stick! #TheCookful

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Sliced apples and a homemade caramel sauce make a delicious version of nachos. Caramel Apple Nachos. We dare you to resist that!

Ingredients

CARAMEL SAUCE (MAKES 1 CUP)*

NACHOS

Instructions

CARAMEL SAUCE

NACHOS

Notes

This post originally appeared in October, 2015 and was revised and republished in September, 2016.

No one likes brown apples. Sure, it’s perfectly natural, but it can kill an appetite. But dig in your pantry. You probably have an ingredient that can banish brown fruit forever.

Chilling, timing and caramel (lots of caramel) make candy apples a breeze to make. Here are our best tips to make yours deeeelicious.

We love the end result of candy apples. But making them can be just as much fun. A few simple tips makes the process simple.

Caramel apples, toffee apples — whatever you call them, candy apples are a favorite snack anywhere you go.

Candy apples with bourbon? And bacon? Say what? Ha! Just say YES!

Ingredients

Instructions

This post originally appeared in October, 2015 and was revised and republished in September, 2016.

Who knew that making homemade caramel apples was so easy? Now we know and we think you should find out too!

Ingredients

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

Instructions

There are so many varieties of apples. Which ones are best to coat in sweet candy love?

Here’s A Video Showing How To Make Your Own Candy Apples:

How To Make Candy Apples:

Step#1: Make your candy syrup mixture

Step#2: Heat your syrup to the hard crack stage

Step #3: Get your pan ready

Step#4: Wash and dry your apples

Step#5: Get your sticks ready

Step#6: Put the sticks into the apples

Step#7 (optional): Make a sugar base

Step#9: Dip your apples

Step#10: Let the candy harden

Ingredients

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

Instructions

Notes

Ingredients

Instructions

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the Vidalia Onion Committee. All opinions are ours and honest.