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Create the perfect apple pie caramel apple at home with this delicious recipe and easy to follow tutorial. These are better than store bought caramel apples!
My favorite way to eat an apple is a caramel pie apple – they are so good! They are expensive to buy at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and so easy and inexpensive to make at home. Not only are they delicious but they look impressive too!! These apples are also one of my favorite treats to buy at Disneyland where they add marshmallows to make them look like Mickey Mouse ears!
What Kind of Caramel Should I use?
I have made caramel apples before and have always made my caramel from scratch until a friend introduced me to Peter’s Caramel. I bought a 5 lb. loaf as it will keep for a long time. You can get about 30 apples out of the 5 lb. brick. The caramel is delicious and melts so smooth and easy. I just put it into a glass bowl and then into the microwave.
Caramel Apple Supplies
- Pete’s Caramel
- Candy Apple Sticks
- White Chocolate Melts
- Cellophane Bags
- Apples. I usually use Granny Smith apples.
- Toppings such as M & M’s, nuts or sprinkles.
How to make the Apple Pie Caramel Apples
- Insert sticks into apple, make sure it goes at least half way in.
- Melt Caramel. We did it in a glass bowl in the microwave.
- Dip the apples into the melted caramel. Just tip the bowl and twirl. If the caramel starts to set up just pop it back in the microwave for a bit. You want the caramel nice and smooth for easy dipping.
- Shake the apple a bit to help the extra caramel drip off. Then use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, at an angle, to scrap the extra caramel off the bottom of the apple. This will help prevent the caramel from pooling along the bottom of the apple.
- Place the apples on a piece of parchment paper to allow the caramel to set up. You can refrigerate them to speed up the process.
Tips from Leigh Anne
- If you get air bubbles in your caramel just pop them with your finger and rub them out a bit. Don’t worry too much about it as you are going to cover it with chocolate!
- I melt my caramel in the microwave but you could also melt it in a double boiler on the strove top.
Dipping Caramel Apples in Chocolate
For the next step of our apple pie caramel apples, we used white chocolate melts. Melt them in the microwave and then dip the apples the same way we did the caramel. Our chocolate was a bit thick but that just meant more chocolate on the apple! Not a bad thing. Use the spatula to scrap off the excess chocolate from the bottom of the apple.
Rolling Caramel Apples in Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
You will want to have a flat dish full of the cinnamon sugar ready. If your chocolate is thinner, let it set up for a minute or two before rolling in the mixture. But our chocolate was setting up quickly, so we went right from the chocolate to the sugar mixture.
- Roll apple into dish of cinnamon sugar.
- Press down on the apple as you roll it in the mixture to make sure it adheres well to the chocolate.
- Place the apple back on the parchment to set up.
Drizzling Apple Pie Caramel Apples
For the finishing touch we put some of the melted white chocolate into a freezer zip lock bag and clipped off the corner to make a decorating bag. Then we drizzled the apple with the remaining chocolate.
Be sure and hold the apple over a box or cookie sheet so the extra chocolate has somewhere to go.
After they are totally set up (put them in the refrigerator if you are in a hurry) they are ready to package up. We used some clear cellophane bags, a cute little tag and some ribbon. You can download the tags for free here.
Delicious gourmet caramel apples, all ready to share with some of the people we are thankful for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I wash my apples first?
Wash and scrub your apples first. Most apples have a waxy coating on them and this will remove it and allow the caramel to adhere to the apple better.
My caramel pools at the bottom of the apple.
This is called the “candy foot” and is normal. You can trim off excess caramel if you want or while the caramel is still warm go ahead and push it back up onto the apple.
How do I store apple pie caramel apples?
They can be stored on the countertop if you have not pierced the apple with a stick.
Apples that have the stick in them should be stored in the refrigerator and will last for up to two weeks. Keep in a container that has some air flow.
Can I make homemade caramel?
You absolutely can – if you need a recipe this is the one I have used.
Be sure and follow me over on You Tube for weekly cooking demos.
Try these other apple recipes:
Apple Pie Caramel Apples
Ingredients
- 5 lbs. Pete’s Caramel
- 30 granny smith apples
- Apple sticks sucker sticks, Popsicle sticks, etc.
- 3 lbs. White Chocolate Melts
- 1 1/2 C white sugar
- 1 1/2 C brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Insert the stick in the apple, making sure it goes about half way in.
- Melt the caramel in a glass bowl in the microwave.
- If the caramel starts to set up just pop it back in the microwave for a bit. You want the caramel nice and smooth for easy dipping.
- You decide how far up you want the caramel to come – half way, 3/4 or cover the entire apple. I went for about 3/4.
- Shake the apple a bit to help the extra caramel drip off.
- Then use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, at an angle, to scrap the extra caramel off the bottom of the apple.
- Place the apples on a piece of parchment paper to allow the caramel to set up.
- If you get air bubbles in your caramel just pop them with your finger and rub them out a bit.
- Melt chocolate in microwave and dip the apples.
- Use the spatula to scrap off the excess chocolate from the bottom of the apple.
- Combine sugars and cinnamon together into a flat dish
- Roll apples into mixture and press down on the apple as you roll it in the mixture to make sure it adheres well to the chocolate (some of the chocolate may drip off into the mixture, don’t worry, it will harden and then just remove it or eat it!)
- Place the apple back on the parchment to set up.
- Drizzle with melted chocolate. Put it into a freezer zip lock bag and clipped off the corner to make a decorating bag.
- Be sure and hold the apple over a box or cookie sheet so the extra chocolate has somewhere to go.
- Allow to set up.
Tips & Notes:
- If you get air bubbles in your caramel just pop them with your finger and rub them out a bit. Don’t worry too much about it as you are going to cover it with chocolate!
- I melt my caramel in the microwave but you could also melt it in a double boiler on the strove top.
Nutrition Facts:
Heather Peterson says
Yum!!
Erin says
These have become a favorite of mine. They make amazing gifts and are delicious. Thank you for sharing!!
Nicole says
I have a question about using Peter’s caramel in your crockpot. How long do you put it in there for? And I’m guessing you put it on low? Just a couple hours? We used Peter’s caramel last year to do some, but I love the crockpot idea to warm it up! Thanks!
Leigh Anne says
I melted it on low and then turned it to warm once it was all melted. It was in there for 2-3 hours.