Anytime is Caramel Apples time! When your father-in-law brings you bushels and bushels of beautiful local Michigan apples, you make Caramel Apples!!
Every year my daughter, Calli, comes to me and wants to make homemade caramel apples. My homemade caramel recipe comes from my grandma, Millie Bahr. This caramel apple recipe is creamy and silky smooth.
Gather from your local orchards, fresh tart and sweet apples of choice. Pair with your favorite toppings to add color and texture.
For years my husband has ordered Mrs. Prindables apples. We all love Mrs. Prindables!!
You can check them out at mrsprindables.com. Mrs. Prindables QVC package comes like clockwork to our house.
Starting around Thanksgiving, the box of individually wrapped caramel apples get delivered. They are passed around to our family and friends as well as devoured by us.
This has been tradition in our house for many years. The boxes continue to come all through the holidays.
As my daughter and I prefect our caramel apple making skills every year. I wanted to share with you my recipe.
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Digital Thermometer – A Must Have!
When making my homemade caramel recipe, you will need to have a candy thermometer.
The reason I love this Taylor digital thermometer is because you can use it to temp meat and also keep a constant temperature of your pan that is on the stove. From oil for frying to candy making, this Taylor thermometer is a great buy!!
I have used a lot of different thermometer, but my preference is this one. Don’t be afraid to use a thermometer. It is a must have in the caramel making process!!
Make this homemade caramel for caramel apples and all of your other needs. I use this caramel recipe for chocolate covered caramels, homemade chocolate and caramel turtles, and several other caramel recipes.
What is the Best Apple for Caramel Apples?
This is a large debate in our house! My husband likes tart apples such as Macintosh, and Jonathans. Calli and I like sweet apples such as Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious and Fuji.
Check out this Michigan Fruit Growers News for the different Michigan apple variety, time of season they are out and the flavor profile of each apple. You want a firm apple verse a soft apple. Pick the tartness or sweetness of the apple depending on your taste preference.
Homemade Caramel Apples Ingredients
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Milk
- Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Light Corn Syrup
- Salt
- Vanilla
- Salted Butter
- Apples
- Assortment of Toppings
Watch How I Make Homemade Caramel
Learn how to make my rich, buttery homemade caramel recipe that’s perfect for dipping caramel apples! I’ll walk you through each step so you get smooth, delicious caramel every time. Great for fall treats, parties, or anytime you’re craving something sweet! 🍎✨
How to Make Homemade Caramel
Prepare the Apples and Toppings: Wash and dry all of your apples thoroughly. Insert a wooden stick into the center of each apple and set aside.Gather your toppings. I like to use mini M&M’s, mini chocolate chips, chopped peanuts, and toffee bits, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Set aside.
Make the Caramel Mixture: In a bowl or container, combine the heavy whipping cream and milk. In a large saucepan, add 3 cups of the milk mixture along with the granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugars are dissolved. Bring to a boil. Using a candy thermometer, cook until the mixture reaches 234°F.
Finish Cooking the Caramel: With the saucepan still on medium heat, slowly stir in the remaining 3 cups of the milk mixture, making sure the caramel continues to boil as you pour it in. Continue stirring and cooking until the caramel reaches 244°F. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter. Let the caramel cool for about 10–20 minutes. The caramel should be thick enough to coat the apples but not so runny that it drips right off.
How to Make Caramel Apples
Dip the Apples in Caramel: Line a baking sheet with foil or plastic wrap and lightly spray with cooking spray. Hold each apple by the stick and dip into the caramel, swirling until evenly coated. I like to leave a little bit of apple showing at the top. Lift the apple out, let the excess drip off, and carefully scrape the bottom against the saucepan to remove excess caramel. If the caramel is still too runny, let it cool a bit longer before dipping more apples.
Caramel Apple Toppings
Add Toppings: Dip the coated apples directly into your toppings or hand-place the toppings for more control. (I found hand-placing worked better to avoid too much coating.). Place the finished apples on the prepared baking sheet. This process took about 30 minutes with my daughter helping me.
Finishing and Storage: Refrigerate the apples to help them firm up. Any leftover caramel can be poured into a greased pan and cooled. Once set, you can cut it into squares or dip pieces into melted chocolate for homemade chocolate-covered caramels.
How to Make Professional Caramel Apples
To make professional looking caramel apples you need to have a variety of good toppings. Make sure that your caramel is not to hot so that it runs off the apple.
And make sure that your caramel is not to cold so that it gets clumpy when trying to coat the apples. When the caramel apples are cooled you can use a large cupcake wrappers to place the apple onto.
Caramel Apples – FAQ
Make sure that all of the water has been wiped clean from the apples. If the caramel is to hot and has not cooled down enough the caramel will fall off and make a pool of caramel at the bottom of the apple.
The apples will last up to one week if not refrigerated. I recommend that you refrigerate the caramel apples. They will last about 2 – 3 weeks depending on how fresh your apple is.
Caramel Apples
Anytime is Caramel Apples time! When your father-in-law brings you bushels and bushels of beautiful local Michigan apples, you make Caramel Apples!! Every year my daughter Calli comes to me and wants to make homemade caramel apples. My homemade caramel recipe comes from my grandma, Millie Bahr. This caramel recipe is creamy and silky smooth. Gather from your local orchards, fresh tart and sweet apples of choice. Pair with your favorite toppings to add color and texture.
Ingredients
- Heavy Whipping Cream 4 cups
- Milk 2 cups
- Sugar, granulated 2 cups
- Brown Sugar 2 cups
- Corn Syrup, lt. 3 cups
- Salt 1/2 teaspoon
- Vanilla 2 teaspoons
- Butter, salted 1/2 cup
- Apples 20 each
- M-n-m's, mini 5 ounces
- Chocolate chips, mini 6 ounces
- Peanuts, chopped 2 ounces
- Toffee Bits 4 ounces
Instructions
- Gather all of your ingredients for making your caramel.
- Prepare your apples for dipping. Wash and dry all apples. Insert sticks into the top center of all the apples and set aside.
- Gather your assortment of toppings that you want to use. We choose mini m-n-m’s, mini chocolate chips, chopped peanuts and toffee bits. Set aside.
- Combine the heavy whipping cream and milk in a bowl or container.
- In a large saucepan, add 3 cups of the milk mixture, sugars (granulated and brown sugar), corn syrup and salt.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugars and continue stirring.
- Using a candy thermometer, cook till 234°.
- With the saucepan still on medium heat, very slowly stir in the remaining 3 cups of milk mixture. Make sure the saucepan mixture continues to boil as you pour in the milk mixture.
- Continue stirring and cook caramel mixture to 244°.
- Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter. This process took me about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Cooking time will vary.
- Let caramel cool for about 10 – 20 minutes. You don’t want the caramel to be too runny so that it drips off the apple when dipped. But you don’t want the caramel to thick so that you struggle getting a good coating on the apples.
- How to Make Caramel Apples
Make sure that the homemade caramel is at the right temperature. Not to runny and not to thick. If the caramel gets to thick just return the pan to the stove. On low heat, stir the caramel until you reach the desired thickness. I just left my pan on the stove on very low heat and would turn the burner on and off when I needed to. - Line a baking sheet with foil or plastic wrap. Grease with non-stick cooking spray.
- To make your caramel apples, grasp the handle of your apple stick tightly. Gently dip the apple into the caramel and swirl around to coat the apple. I like to leave a little bit of the apple skin showing on the top.
- Lift the apple out of the caramel and let drip. Carefully, scrape the excess caramel off the bottom with the side of the saucepan. If the caramel continues to drip off the bottom, then your caramel is to hot and needs to cool down a little longer.
- Toppings You can either dip your apples in the toppings or hand place what you want. We dipped them at first but found that it added way too much topping than what we wanted. Hand placing what we wanted worked out better for us.
- Place finished apples onto the greased baking sheet. Dipping all of the apples into the caramel and then placing the toppings on each apple. This took my daughter and I about 30 minutes with 2 of us working.
- I recommend placing finished apples in the fridge to help them firm up.
- If caramel is left over from dipping just put into a grease lined pan. This caramel can be reheated for any of your other needs. You can cut up the cooled caramel and dip into melted chocolate for chocolate covered caramels.
Notes
Tips
This batch will make about 20 caramel apples. You will need to have a candy thermometer. I have used a lot of different thermometer, but my preference is a Taylor thermometer with a cord. Don’t be afraid to use a thermometer. It will help in the caramel making process. Make this caramel for caramel apples and all of your other needs. I use this caramel recipe for chocolate covered caramels, turtles, snicker bars, and several other recipes.
What is the Best Apple for Caramel Apples?
This is a large debate in our house! My husband likes tart apples such as Macintosh, and Jonathans. Calli and I like sweet apples such as Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious and Fuji. Check out Michigan Fruit Growers News at https://fruitgrowersnews.com/news/early-michigan-apple-varieties-estimated-to-be-ready-at-end-of-august/ for the different Michigan apple variety, time of season they are out and the flavor profile of each apple. You want a firm apple verse a soft apple. Pick the tartness or sweetness of the apple depending on your taste preference.
How to Make Professional Caramel Apples
To make professional looking caramel apples you need to have a variety of good toppings. Make sure that your caramel is not to hot so that it runs off the apple. And make sure that your caramel is not to cold so that it gets clumpy when trying to coat the apples. When the caramel apples are cooled you can use a large cupcake wrapper to place the apple onto.
How Do You Keep Caramel from Sliding Off Apples?
Make sure that all of the water has been wiped clean from the apples. If the caramel is to hot and has not cooled down enough the caramel will fall off and make a pool of caramel at the bottom of the apple.
How Long Do Caramel Apples Last?
The apples will last up to one week if not refrigerated. I recommend that you refrigerate the caramel apples. They will last about 2 - 3 weeks depending on how fresh your apple is.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I ONLY EVER ENDORSE PRODUCTS THAT I HAVE PERSONALLY USED. Thank you for your support!
Nutrition Information
Yield
20Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 691Total Fat 28gSaturated Fat 17gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 74mgSodium 173mgCarbohydrates 115gFiber 5gSugar 107gProtein 4g
Note: For exact nutritional information, consult your dietitian. All nutritional information is simply a guideline.
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If you enjoy this recipe, you may enjoy the following: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes and Rice Pudding
