Easy Halloween Candy Apples (Poison Apples)
Savor the enchanting crunch of Halloween candy apples! Coated in a black candy glaze and adorned with spooky sweetness, this festive treat casts a delicious spell.
In our area, the fall season brings with it some really delicious produce. Some of my favorites are peaches, pears, and of course, apples!
With all of the abundance, making candy apples seems like a natural choice. If you aren’t familiar with these treats, crisp apples are covered in a hard candy shell. So fun and delicious!
Too busy to make this right away? Pin it for later! Pin this post to your favorite board on Pinterest and it will be there when you’re ready!
This particular candy apple recipe makes the perfect sweet treats for Halloween. These black beauties are so much fun to make and eat. The kids will love them and so will you.
Be sure to check out this Halloween chocolate bark, these Halloween rice krispie pops, or this Hocus Pocus dessert board for more fun Halloween food ideas!
You can even add decorations like candy eyes or sprinkles! Sure, it is possible to buy candy apple kits at the grocery store, but why bother when it is so easy to make them from scratch. Let me show you.
Apple Details
Yield: 6 candied apples
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
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Supplies
Ingredients
- Granny Smith apples – or your favorite apple of choice.
- White granulated sugar – used to sweeten the candy coating.
- Light corn syrup – used to make the candy coating.
- Black food dye – for the spooky black color.
- Vanilla extract – perfect for a rich flavor.
Instructions
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine sugar, water, corn syrup, and black food dye.
3. Place over medium-high heat and stir everything together to combine.
4. Place the candy thermometer in the pan and let the candy mixture heat up and boil until it reaches 290 degrees F (about 8-10 minutes).
5. While the candy coating heats up, prepare the apples.
6. Rinse apples under water, dry them with a paper towel, and remove the stems.
7. Push a wooden stick all the way down into the center of each apple.
8. Once the candy coating reaches 290 degrees F, remove it from the heat. Add the salt and vanilla extract and stir well.
9. Dip each apple into the pot and coat fully. Swirl a couple times to get a thick, darker black coating. Lift the apple out of the sugar coating and let the excess drip off.
10. Place the dipped apple on the parchment covered baking sheet that you set aside earlier.
11. Repeat with the rest of the apples and let cool until hardened.
Recipe Notes
- If you would like a more bubbly look on the candy apples, dip them while bubbles are still in the candy coating after removing from the heat.
- For no bubbles at all, stir while the candy coating is off the heat until they have all disappeared. Then dip the apples in the coating.
Tips and Tricks
- Use warm water to rinse your apples. It helps remove the waxy coating.
- I love the tartness and bright green color of a Granny Smith, but you can easily switch out the variety of apple you use. Gala apples are another popular choice.
- If a whole apple is more than you want, or you just want a bite-sized version to serve at a Halloween party, dip apple slices instead. Substitute cake pop sticks for the larger wooden sticks.
- If you don’t want black apples, substitute the black dye with red food coloring for a more traditional looking candy apple.
- Substitute the candy coating with melted white chocolate. You could also use white, red, or black candy melts.
- Use the same method to create your own homemade caramel apples.
- Wax paper or a silicone baking mat can be used to line your baking sheet if you are out of parchment paper.
- For best results, store apples in the fridge in an airtight container.
Try your hand at making these poison apples this Halloween. For more sweet Halloween recipes, check out these candy corn cupcakes, Halloween “hand” pies, or these Halloween sugar cookies.
If you are looking for a savory option instead, how about this creepy Halloween cheese ball, Halloween tomato soup, or Halloween eyeball spaghetti?
If you love these Halloween candy apples, please give them a five-star review and help me share them on Facebook or Pinterest!
Halloween Candy Apples
Ingredients
- 6 Granny Smith apples
- 3 cups white granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp water
- Black food dye
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine sugar, water, corn syrup, and black food dye.
- Place over medium-high heat and stir everything together to combine.
- Place the candy thermometer in the pan and let the candy mixture heat up and boil until it reaches 290 degrees F (about 8-10 minutes).
- While the candy coating heats up, prepare the apples.
- Rinse them under water, dry apples with a paper towel, and remove the stems.
- Push a wooden stick all the way down into the center of each apple.
- Once the candy coating reaches 290 degrees F, remove it from the heat. Add the salt and vanilla extract and stir well.
- Dip each apple into the saucepan and coat fully. Swirl a couple times to get a thick, darker black coating. Lift the apple out of the sugar coating and let the excess drip off.
- Place the dipped apple on the parchment covered baking sheet that you set aside earlier.
- Repeat with the rest of the apples and let cool until hardened.
Notes
- Use warm water to rinse your apples. It helps remove the waxy coating.
- I love the tartness and bright green color of a Granny Smith, but you can easily switch out the variety of apple you use. Gala apples are another popular choice.
- If a whole apple is more than you want, or you just want a bite-sized version to serve at a Halloween party, dip apple slices instead. Substitute cake pop sticks for the larger wooden sticks.
- If you don’t want black apples, substitute the black dye with red food coloring for a more traditional looking candy apple.
- Substitute the candy coating with melted white chocolate. You could also use white, red, or black candy melts.
- Use the same method to create your own homemade caramel apples.
- Wax paper or a silicone baking mat can be used to line your baking sheet if you are out of parchment paper.
- For best results, store apples in the fridge in an airtight container.
Nutrition
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