Description
These Striped Candy Apples are a delightful twist on the classic candy apple, featuring vibrant red and green striped hard candy coatings. Perfect for festive occasions, these crunchy, sweet treats combine the crisp freshness of apples with a glossy, colorful shell made from homemade hard candy.
Ingredients
Scale
Apples
- 6 medium apples, washed and dried
- 6 wooden sticks
Candy Coating
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup water
- Red food coloring
- Green food coloring
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- Insert sticks: Insert wooden sticks into the stem end of each apple to make handling easier.
- Prepare sugar mixture: In a medium saucepan, combine granulated sugar, light corn syrup, and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring gently until the sugar dissolves completely to prevent graininess.
- Boil to hard crack stage: Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil without stirring. Use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature until it reaches 300°F (hard crack stage), which ensures the candy will harden properly.
- Divide syrup: Remove the saucepan from heat and carefully divide the hot candy syrup equally into two heatproof bowls for coloring.
- Color the candy: Add red food coloring to one bowl and green food coloring to the other, stirring each thoroughly to achieve vibrant colors. Optionally, stir in vanilla extract if using.
- Dip apples: Dip each apple first into the red candy syrup, allowing any excess to drip off. Then, roll or drizzle the green candy syrup over the red coating to create attractive striped patterns.
- Cool and set: Place the coated apples onto a greased baking sheet to prevent sticking, and let them cool completely so the candy hardens solid.
- Serve: Once cooled, the striped candy apples are ready to enjoy as a crunchy, colorful treat perfect for fall festivities or parties.
Notes
- Use a candy thermometer to ensure the syrup reaches the correct hard crack temperature for best candy texture.
- Work quickly when dipping apples as the candy will harden fast.
- Grease the baking sheet lightly to prevent the apples from sticking.
- If you don’t have red or green food coloring, substitute with other colors to create different striped effects.
- Handle hot syrup with caution to avoid burns.
