Caramel apples remind me of the fall apple season and Halloween, but you can make this treat any time of year. Use my caramel sauce recipe as a starting point and then cook the sauce a bit longer so it firms up more like candy or a caramel fudge, which you then use to coats the apples.
You can also make the caramel coating into caramel fudge, slice up the apples, and dip the apples into the caramel fudge.
Caramel Apples
This recipe will depend somewhat on the size of your apples and how much coating you add to the outside. I recommend fresh, crunchy apples.For the caramel, you can use my recipe for caramel sauce from the nut bar recipe because I don't have to use milk. Or use my dairy-free caramel sauce.How to tell when it's ready: Remember to bubble the honey mixture in the sauce pan for at least 10 minutes, letting it get dark and thicker. Add a drop of it to a glass of cool water and it should ball up if it's ready. You can also cool the liquid caramel on the spoon you're using to stir it and if it's thick and sticky then it's ready.
Servings: 8 caramel apples
Calories: 237kcal
Ingredients
- 8 apples honey crips or other crunchy apple
- 8 popsicle sticks
- 2 cups caramel sauce
Instructions
- Insert a popsicle stick into the top of each apple (where the stem is).
- Make the caramel sauce and then continue to simmer it until it darkens enough that it is turning thick. If you take a drop of it and add it to cold water it should become firm like a caramel candy.
- While the sauce is still in a somewhat liquid state, cooled but not totally cooled (and you can reheat it to get back to this state), roll each apple through the caramel sauce and then place it on the parchment paper to cool. You want roll it while the caramel is still in a liquid state but not too hot that it slides right off the apple. You can test one out to see if you're ready.
Nutrition
Calories: 237kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 199mg | Potassium: 242mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 149IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg
Caramel Sauce {dairy-free}
For the coconut cream, I recommend skimming it off the top of a can or container of coconut cream that has been refrigerated for at least 8 hours, or buy a can of coconut cream. If you don't have coconut cream, you can use coconut milk or other dairy-free milk. The caramel will be a bit more runny, or you can add a bit less milk to the honey.
Servings: 16 servings or 1 tablespoon
Calories: 46kcal
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, heat the honey on a low to medium heat. Boil steadily for about 5 minutes, without burning the honey. The goal is to darken the honey enough that when you drop some of the hot honey in cold water, it thickens.
- Turn off the heat and add the coconut cream to the honey and blend with a spoon until it's fully combined.
- To thicken it further, place it the refrigerator for an hour or so before using. Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container or glass jar.
Nutrition
Calories: 46kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 20mg | Potassium: 21mg | Fiber: 0.02g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Marie says
i just made these for daughter. She has a milk allergy so I used vanilla almond milk. I also ran out of honey so I used 3/4 cup honey and about 2 1/2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar. It took a while to thicken up but came out very good. Thank you for this fantastic recipe!
Erica says
thanks! Yes, it does take a while to thicken, in general.
Michelle says
Could this be poured on popcorn to make carmel popcorn? I am trying to find a carmel popcorn recipe that does not use sugar?
Erica says
I've been wanting to try this for a while, but haven't yet. The closest recipe I would probably follow is this one: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Caramel-Popcorn/Detail.aspx. Here's my idea (but I haven't tried it yet): You'll want to boil the caramel for a while to get it close to burning so that it when it cools it is firm. Then mix it in with the popcorn (and any nuts or other stuff) and spread it out on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and bake for about 30 minutes. If you try it, let us know.
michelle says
I didn't want to use sugar due to a sugar sensitivity in our house, so I found this recipe on internet and tried....delicious!! I had to buy a candy thermometer but a local grocery store had it so that was easy. 1 cup organic maple syrup, 2 tbsp butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 cup un popped popcorn (popped makes several cups) First pop popcorn in coconut oil or other preferred oil, add celtic sea salt if desired and set aside in ceramic or glass bowl. Next in heavy saucepan put the maple syrup and butter and heat to 260 degrees ( will take a few minutes), add vanilla (I added it at beginning and didn't see a difference). Pour over popcorn and try and shape popcorn balls or just keep as carmel popcorn. Can add nuts or carob/chocolate chips if desired. Need to add and mix syrup quickly with popcorn before it gets hard. I think these would make great chanukah/xmas gifts wrapped in pretty saran wrap and a bow...don't think this batch will make it to the end of the day.
Erica says
Michelle - WOW - that sounds fantastic - thanks for sharing this method! I love the use of maple syrup.
Michelle says
Can't wait to try this. Our family loves your recipes!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your creativity.
Jennifer says
What a great Fall treat! And this sounds like a fun one to make with my son, combining his two favorites: apples and sugar 🙂