Poison Toffee Apples for Halloween
These black Poison candy apples are the ultimate wickedly sinister Halloween treat and will make an excellent centerpiece.
As a child, eating a candy apple was the ultimate delight. I never felt guilty because well, it’s an apple! Yes, it has tons of sugar around it but who cares? It’s fruit! I would always crack the candy coating on the table because it was just too hard to bite through and I loved how it always made me feel so jolly when I ate it. And I now see that same joy on my kids’ faces when they eat them.
Making them is equally fun. Even more fun when they candy coating is a glossy, sinister black. They remind me of something Maleficent would serve. Just perfect for Halloween. I have made a whole batch and have wrapped them in cellophane, ready to give to the trick-or-treaters who have become a fun addition in the last few years. As South Africans, Halloween is not a holiday we normally celebrate but I just love the dressing up and the festivity of it all. These apples make a beautiful center piece and will add the appropriate amount of wickedness to your party.
Ingredients needed
- Apples. I used Granny Smith apples. I love how the green apples and black candy coating contrast but use any crisp, tart apple of your choice. Fuji, Honeycrisp, etc. work well.
- Sugar.
- Water.
- Corn syrup. Liquid glucose works equally well.
- Black food coloring. I used a gel food coloring.
How do I make candy apples?
- Prepare the apples and dipping station: Wash your apples in warm water (especially if they have a wax coating). Remove the stems from the apples. Skewer your apples with kebab sticks (or use branches from a non-toxic tree for a fun twist) and set aside. Line a sheetpan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray and set aside. You could also allow the apples to set on a silicone mat.
- Make the candy coating: Combine sugar, water, corn syrup and black food coloring in a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Allow to come to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring and wash down the sides of the pot with a wet brush. This prevents sugar crystals from falling into the caramel and causing it to crystallize. Cook the caramel until it’s reached the hard crack stage (150ºC/310ºF on a candy thermometer). To check if you’ve reached hard crack stage without a candy thermometer, simply drop a little of the boiling sugar mixture into a glass of ice cold water. The sugar should form hard, brittle threads.
- Dip the apples: Carefully dip the apples into the sweet candy coating. Carefully tip the pan to the side and swirl the apples into the candy mixture. Place on the prepared sheetpan and allow to cool and harden before serving.
What is the best apple to use for candy apples?
Granny Smith apples are perfect for toffee/candy apples. Their tart, crispness works very well with the sugary sweetness of the candy coating.
Can you put candy apples in the fridge?
You can, but it’s not recommended. The candy coating can start to sweat in the refrigerator and can slide off the apple. Rather wrap the cooled, hardened candy apples in cellophane and tie well to prevent any oxygen from getting to the apples. This way they will last up to 3-5 days at room temperature. The best way to prevent oxygenation though is to coat the apples and the entry point of the skewer into the apple completely in the candy coating. This way they can last up for 10 days.
Halloween recipes
Poison Toffee Apples for Halloween
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cups water
- 1/2 cup liquid glucose/light corn syrup
- few drops black gel food colouring
- 6 Granny Smith apples or 12 small apples (Ensure your apples are fresh and haven’t been waxed)
Instructions
- Grease a piece of baking paper and place on a tray/baking sheet.
- Insert bamboo skewers in all the apples and set aside.
- Combine sugar, water, corn syrup and black food coloring in a saucepan and set over medium heat.
- Allow to come to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring and wash down the sides of the pot with a wet brush. This prevents sugar crystals from falling into the caramel and causing it to crystallize.
- Cook the caramel until it's reached the hard crack stage (150ºC/310ºF on a candy thermometer). To check if you've reached hard crack stage without a candy thermometer, simply drop a little of the boiling sugar mixture into a glass of ice cold water. The sugar should form hard, brittle threads.
- Carefully dip the apples into the caramel mixture. Carefully tip the pan to the side and swirl the apples into the candy mixture.
- Place on the prepared sheet pan and allow to cool and harden before serving.
Lynz, I would suggest eating them the day they are made. Alternatively you can wrap the cooled candy apples in celophane and keep them for a day or two at room temperature?
If you drop a bit of the caramel in ice water it needs to form a hard ball immediately, that is hard crack stage.
Kelsie, it could be that your apples have been waxed by the retailer you bought them from which will then melt off resulting in your candy layer slipping off. Either that or your caramel hasn’t cooked for long enough.
Julia, that means your caramel hasn’t cooked for long enough. It needs to be really quite thick so it sticks onto the apples. Also, make sure your apples haven’t been waxed by the retailer you have bought them from as this could also cause the candy layer to slip off.
Those look great Emma! Again, please don’t use wax paper as that will melt and stick to the apple. Rather use baking paper or parchment.
Thanks Alida, i didn’t use wax paper but noted that others had been and was suggesting they try a silicone baking mat.
Oh, silly me! The silicone baking mats are fantastic!
Katy, the caramel should be quite thick. I would say approximately 10-15 minutes?
I started this before realizing I needed a candy thermometer, alas mine is broken, about how long after sugar starts boiling should I start dipping in the apples?
Followed the recipe but used food coloring, couldn’t get hold of the gel. Still after 2 rounds was able to get the gloss effect and very happy witht the results. For those having problems with the toffee sticking to the wax paper, you might want to try using a non-stick silicone baking mat. I have put a link below to my picture on Pinterest – Check it out.
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/290834088410574979/
My candy is sliding right off the apple! Help!!!
My mixture isn’t sticking to my apples…it just runs right off when i pull it out? helppp
Hi! I made a batch of these last night and had two issues – first, some of the toffee bubbled once I dipped the apples, do I just need to remove the toffee from the high heat before dipping? Other issue was that the wax paper stuck to the toffee when I removed them…I used Crisco on wax paper. Is there a better way? Do I have to remove them sooner (like right after the hour of cooling)? Thanks!
Yes you’re going to want to take them off the heat first then dip. Also yeah as soon as the caramel is set enough i would peel if off the parchment, regrease the pan and put them back down. 😀
Yes, remove the caramel from the heat before dipping in the apples.
And it’s important that you use BAKING paper or parchment and not wax paper. Wax paper is not heat-resistant and the waxy layer will melt.
How long in advance can you make these? And what is the best way to store them? Also….without a thermometer, how best can I determine when it gets to the ” hard crack stage”?
You could definitely add dark blue if you wanted. I actually don’t even know what the brand is that I use, it’s just the colouring my local baking shop sells.
The problem with liquid is that it can often dilute the candy layer to get to the same opaque colour and then it won’t set hard. But perhaps give it a try and see?
These are so spooky and creative! I LOVE them.
Thanks Josephine!
I am using them as treats at my zombie wedding ceremony this saturday!! They are perfect for the theme and ill be sticking neon colored gummy worms on them right after dipping
What an awesome idea. I hope you’re wedding day is amazing!
Im going to make these for my work party, but dont have any gel food coloring all I have is liquid. How will it different? Has anyone used liquid food coloring?
I followed the directions to the detail and had no issues. My black sugar came out more translucent… I added 4 healthy drops of black gel food color. I really wanted that glossy black look. Help?
Juli, the only way to get it more black is to add more colouring. Some gel colours are less opaque than others so you’ll have to add until your happy with the end result.
Ok so I made a second batch. I alway dbl the batches because I get so irritated when I don’t have enough. This time I put the water in the saucepan first and just used a ton of color (almost half of the tube). I stirred the color with the water to make sure it was blended well. Then the other ingredients were added. I cooked it to 310 and then let it sit for about a minute off the heat. The first time I just started dipping the apples and then I had bubbles forming in the coating. This time I actually stepped back and waited for the bubbles to dissipate. Absolute success!!!! The color was much better and the coating was silky smooth. It’s still not as dark as I want tho. I’m looking for that midnight black color in the pic. Would you suggest maybe a hit of dark blue with the black? What brand of black gel are you using? Thanks for everything.
These are beautiful. Is there a way to tell when the candy gets to the hard crack stage without a candy thermometer?
When you drop a bit of the caramel into ice water it should form a hard little ball that cracks when you bite into it/hit it with a spoon.
I always have trouble with my apples sticking to the paper, whats the best way to get that to not happen?
I just tried this and it’s all watery and not sticking to the apple, is there something I’m doing wrong?
Kat, it might be that you didn’t cook it for long enough. Before you coat the apples the caramel/candy needs to be quite thick and sticky. Did you cook it until the hard crack stage? Also, if you used liquid food colouring instead of the gel mentioned in the recipe it could also have an effect on the finished result.