Me being inspired about food when I was a kid is nothing new…I explored this in painful detail in my post about Frances’s coffee cake. I felt the same way about candy apples. Cinnamon candy apples. Shiny red candy apples, not the caramel apples that we kept eating at home (I mean, don’t get me wrong, caramel apples are amazing, butI think this was a “grass is greener” situation and my parents were not accommodating me.) Candy apples like the witch made in Snow White.
The great thing about being an adult is…actually, I think being an adult is kind of overrated, but you do get to go to bed whenever you want and you can make candy apples just like the evil queens do, free of the stifling restrictions of your parents.
about these candy apples
These old-fashioned cinnamon candy apples have that hard, shiny, red shell (in fact, I definitely recommend cutting these into slices instead of trying to bite into them.) I love cinnamon candy, so these are definitely up my alley.
how to make them
You’ll need some small, tart-ish, crisp apples (like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp), heavy sucker sticks, cinnamon candies (I prefer cinnamon disc candies, but Red Hots also work) and some water. You also may want a few drops of red food coloring–sometimes these come out a little more pink than you might want.
Unwrap candies and place in a medium heavy saucepan.
Add water
and begin cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently. While the candy is cooking, wash the apples well (you can even add a tiny drop of dish soap) and then dry them completely. Insert a wooden or sucker stick into each apple and set aside (as the candy mixture starts to boil and cook, you’ll need to stir constantly.)
Grease a sheet of parchment paper or foil and set aside.
Use a thermometer (or an instant read thermometer like ThermoPop) to monitor the temperature. When it reaches 300 degrees F, remove from heat. If desired, add red food coloring. Dip the prepared apples into the mixture, coating evenly and twirling to remove the excess.
Place on the prepared sheet and allow to cool completely.
sdf
Cinnamon Candy Apples
Ingredients
- 1 pound bag cinnamon disc candies or Red hots
- 1/3 cup water
- 10-20 drops teaspoon red food coloring optional; sometimes the candies are more pink than you might want
- 12 small apples preferably crips, tart-to-tart-ish apples like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp
- 12 wooden candy sticks
Instructions
- Unwrap candies and place in a medium heavy saucepan. Combine with water and begin cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently. While the candy is cooking, wash the apples well (you can even add a tiny drop of dish soap) and then dry them completely. Insert a wooden stick into each apple and set aside (as the candy mixture starts to boil and cook, you'll need to stir constantly.)
- Grease a sheet of parchment paper or foil and set aside.
- Use a thermometer (or an instant read thermometer like ThermoPop) to monitor the temperature. When it reaches 300 degrees F, remove from heat. If desired, add red food coloring. Dip the prepared apples into the mixture, coating evenly and twirling to remove the excess. Place on the prepared sheet and allow to cool completely.
- sdf
Questions & Reviews
This is such a cute and simple idea to make apples more tasty. Thanks for sharing.
Could you use cinnamon jolly ranchers instead, do you think? I can’t find those brach’s disks anywhere!
I bet you could!
In the 50’s early 60’s the best trick or treats were homemade…not bought.. My favorites were popcorn balls and candy apples, So when we searched our kids candy in the 80’s and 90’s, we ate the homemade stuff to save them from harm.