Caramel Apples
- Total Time
- About 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 4medium apples (about 1½ pounds total), such as Granny Smith, McIntosh or Honeycrisp, preferably organic (see note), washed and dried, at room temperature
- 4(8-inch) sturdy treat sticks
- 1cup/200 grams granulated sugar
- ⅓cup/80 milliliters light corn syrup
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾cup/180 milliliters heavy cream
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1tablespoon unsalted butter
Preparation
- Step 1
Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a piece of lightly greased parchment paper. Place the apples onto the prepared baking sheet, and press a treat stick firmly into the stem end, into the center of each apple.
- Step 2
In a medium pot, combine the sugar, corn syrup and ⅓ cup water. Stir the mixture with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon over medium heat until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges. Once it begins to bubble, stop stirring.
- Step 3
Cook the mixture (without stirring) until it begins to turn a medium amber color, 10 to 12 minutes. When the desired caramel color is reached, stir in the salt, cream, vanilla and butter — the mixture will bubble up vigorously — stir until it’s combined and smooth.
- Step 4
Continue to cook the caramel over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reads 245 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, another 8 to 10 minutes. Leave the syrup mixture in the pot, and allow to cool to 200 degrees. (If the mixture cools too much, it can be reheated until fluid.)
- Step 5
Working quickly, dip ¾ of an apple into the caramel, tilting the pot as needed to coat. Hold the apple over the caramel, letting the excess drip off, then transfer to the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining apples, reheating the caramel as necessary. Cool completely before serving.
- Many apples have a wax coating, which can make it difficult for the caramel to adhere to the outside of the apple. Using organic apples helps prevent this issue.
Private Notes
Comments
Corn syrup is an ingredient that has been in use since the early 19th century. I think it's fair to say that people in 1812, the year it became available commercially, cooked homemade food. So, no purpose has been defeated. If you make it, it's homemade.
I make caramel with coconut milk and maple syrup and agave nectar. I'm guessing one or both of those would work here.
I realize this comment stream is old, but I wanted to add my two cents. Okay, so you are concerned that using corn syrup from the store somehow makes this not homemade. Well, then buckle up and prepare to raise your own cow and churn your own butter, grow the sugarcane and refine your own sugar, grow your own vanilla and apples, mine your own salt, and whittle your own treat sticks. I am just happy to live in a time when I don’t have to tend a wood fire to do my cooking, like my grandmother did.
I always take a close look at NYT cooking comments, because I’ve found that sometimes they’re unhelpful, but sometimes the recipe only really works if i follow comment advice. Since there was a lot of conflicting information here I just made the recipe exactly how it was written and they turned out perfect. Exactly enough for 4 apples, no recipe adjustments. Smooth and chewy caramel that you don’t have to gnaw on to find an apple.
The caramel became hard as a rock...What did I do wrong?
One can try scrubbing apples with baking soda to remove wax, as well as pesticide residue, although organic apples also prevent pesticides from harming bees and other wildlife and contaminating nature. If you can afford it, support organic farms!