Which apples for caramel apples

Whether you buy a caramel apple-making kit, melt store-bought caramels, or make your own caramel sauce , you need to give some serious thought to the type of apple you use, because the apple is just as important as the sweet topping. The best apples to use when making caramel apples are those that are easy to bite into, maintain a juicy crunch, and has a slightly tart flavor to help balance the sweetness of the caramel. A tart Granny Smith apple is a good choice and is the standard go-to apple for many caramel apple makers.

It definitely counters the sweetness of the caramel topping and the pretty green color of the apple is a nice complement to the golden color of the caramel. If you think Granny Smiths are too tart for your taste, keep this in mind: the best apples for making caramel apples are the same apples you might use for making an apple pie - those that are firm with a sweet-tart flavor profile.

Look for Honeycrisps, Pink Ladys, Pippins or Jonagold apples at your farmers' market or grocery store. Avoid overly sweet apples or those that tend towards softness or mealiness, such as Red Delicious apples. Choose smaller apples if you can find them. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights.

Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Pin Share Email. Why It Works Using a two-stage cooking method lets you customize the degree of caramelization without sacrificing consistency. A ratio of sugar and cream keeps the caramel tender, so the apples are easy to eat. Cold apples shock the caramel, for a thick, quick-set coating. Featured Video.

Sprinkle apples with any desired toppings while still hot. Let caramel apples cool on the parchment paper. Use caution, caramel is very hot. Because the caramel requires constant attention when cooking and you will be in a hurry when coating the apples, prep everything beforehand. Have your parchment paper laid out, your toppings ready in bowls, etc.

Also, each stove differs as far as temperature and how long you will need to cook caramel. It only took 21 minutes for me, but took a friend 39 minutes, so it can vary greatly. All Rights Reserved.

The Best Caramel Apples. Rating: 4. Read Reviews Add Review. Save Pin Print Share. Gallery The Best Caramel Apples. Recipe Summary test prep:. Nutrition Info. Ingredients Decrease Serving 8. The ingredient list now reflects the servings specified.

Add all ingredients to shopping list View your list. I Made It Print. Cook's Note: Because the caramel requires constant attention when cooking and you will be in a hurry when coating the apples, prep everything beforehand. Full Nutrition. Reviews Read More Reviews. Most helpful positive review Maria. Rating: 4 stars. Here are some things I've learned while making these caramel apples. If the caramel is not sticking properly, you need to heat caramel up again to The caramel will stick perfectly until it starts to cool then the butter separates and it will not stick.

It really is useful working with a candy thermometer because you can monitor the temperature closely. With one of the batches I overheated the caramel when reheating and it turned into hard toffee. Placing apples in the boiling water made them seep juice, will try them without following that step the next time.

I had many extra apples and kept them near a cool door, that made the caramel hard but once it was placed in a warm room they started to soften again.