Apple Pie Caramel Apple
Apple Pie Caramel Apples are a sweet treat layered with flavor. These Caramel Apples are easy to put together, but look and taste expensive. If you’re craving this classic treat from Disney World or Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, you may be surprised how easy they are to recreate at home!
Caramel Apples are the perfect fall treat. They are sweet and tart, sticky and juicy, and honestly pretty easy and fun to make at home.
Yes, even the gourmet caramel apples you might spend a small fortune on at Disneyland or Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory are easy and affordable to recreate at home.
These Apple Pie Caramel Apples are truly a show stopper. They have layers of caramel, white chocolate and graham crackers all balanced perfectly by tart Granny Smith apples. They look beautiful and taste fantastic! Enjoy them with Mummy Pigs in a Blanket for a perfect Halloween feast!
Why Make This Recipe
- Surprisingly Easy: It only takes a few minutes to make this decadent treat at home. Once you learn the secrets to getting caramel to melt and stick perfectly, you can’t fail!
- Super Affordable: You could make a dozen apple pie caramel apples at home for the same price you would pay at a gourmet candy store.
- So Delicious: The perfect pairing of sweet and sour with layers of flavor… These caramel apples are divine!
Ingredients for Apple Pie Caramel Apples
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Granny Smith Apples: Granny Smith are the most traditional choice, but you could also use Fuji apples or Honeycrisp.
- Chewy Caramel Pieces: There are several different brands that will work for this recipe. You can use Werthers, Brachs or Kraft but be sure and select the soft and chewy caramels, not the hard ones!
- Brown and Granulated Sugar: The perfect duo for nailing the apple pie flavor
- Cinnamon
- Graham Crackers Crumbs: Graham cracker crumbs are necessary to mimic the pie crust flavor. If you prefer you could also use a cooked and crushed pie crust.
- White Chocolate Chips: For the best results use a high quality white chocolate or white chocolate melts. A tablespoon of vegetable oil will help it melt much smoother
Tools
- 5 (6”) kebab sticks with pointed ends: These sticks are the most sturdy and easiest to use for caramel apples but you could use a popsicle stick in a pinch
How to Prep Your Apples
You want to choose apples that feel firm and have no cuts or bruising. Granny Smith apples are the most popular choice, but you could absolutely use Honeycrisp or Fuji. These apples are sweeter than Granny Smith but not as sweet as other varieties and they still have a nice crispness to them.
Most apples in grocery stores will have a wax coating that keeps them fresh for longer, but this wax coating can make it difficult for the caramel to stick. You can tell an apple has wax on the exterior if it is shiny.
You may be able to find apples without this wax coating at your local farmer’s market or if you pick them straight off a tree but if that’s not an option it’s easy to clean it off.
To clean off your apples, do the following:
- Boil water with about ¼ cup vinegar. The vinegar helps to clean the exterior of the apples even better.
- Add your apples to the boiling water for 10-20 seconds and remove promptly with a slotted spoon.
- Place your apples in the refrigerator or freezer while you melt your caramels. Cold apples will help the caramel to stick even better.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon and mix to combine. Set aside.
Step 2: Wash and remove the wax from the apples, boiling if necessary. Remove the stems, then place the kebab sticks where the stem was. Place the apples in the freezer while you melt your caramel.
Step 3: Melt the caramel pieces according to the package instructions. Remove the apples from the freezer and dip in the caramel. Place them back in the fridge until the caramel is set.
Step 4: Melt the white chocolate chips with vegetable oil.
Step 5: Dip the caramel apple in the melted white chocolate, coating the whole thing. Immediately after, dip the bottom half of the caramel apple in the graham cracker crumbs. Then roll the entire chocolate-coated apple in the cinnamon sugar combination. Place in the fridge until set.
Expert Tips
- Caramel will stick to parchment paper or wax paper. A better option is to use a silicone mat or spray your parchment paper with a little bit of nonstick spray. You can also just place your caramel apples directly onto a cookie sheet and carefully remove them later with a spatula.
- You can keep your caramel or chocolate ready to dip with the help of a hot plate, heat pad or slow cooker. Turn it to low or warm heat and place your bowl on top. This is helpful if you plan to make several caramel apples.
- You can also make Caramel Apple Slices with this same flavor combination for the ultimate treat! Or if you don’t want to go through the trouble of Caramel Apples altogether, you can instead make this Cream Cheese Caramel Apple Dip.
How to Make a Double Boiler
White chocolate can be tricky to melt just right. In the microwave it easily seizes up, creating clumpy chocolate that you can’t use.
The best way to melt your chocolate is with a double boiler. A double boiler will give you the gentle heat you need to melt your chocolate without burning it.
To create a double boiler, follow these steps:
- Choose a small pot and add an inch or two of water. Choose a heat-safe bowl that fits snug over the top of your pot. You don’t want the water to touch your bowl.
- Let the water come to a simmer or gentle boil. You want gentle heat, not a rolling boil.
- Place your chocolate in the bowl and place it on top of the pot. Stir gently until your chocolate is melted.
Recipe FAQs
You can absolutely use homemade caramel if you have a go-to recipe. I will say homemade caramel has incredible flavor, but it requires a candy thermometer and a lot of patience to master. If it’s a skill you’ve got, then go for it!
Caramel apples keep well at room temperature for up to seven days. They make great gifts when you wrap them in cellophane.
You can also store your caramel apples in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. It’s best to store the apples in the fridge since the hole for the stick will expose them.
This is called a candy foot. It’s perfectly normal for some of the caramel to pool at the bottom of the apple.
You can’t totally prevent the candy foot from happening, but you can make it smaller by scraping off excess caramel on the edge of your bowl before you set it down. You can also trim it off before you dip the apple in chocolate.
Seeing caramel slide off your apple is the biggest headache when making caramel apples! You can prevent the caramel from sliding by washing and drying your apples very well. Make sure you use a paper towel to dry them completely and remove any wax.
Freezing your apples for a few minutes before you dip them also helps the caramel to harden on the apple and stick to the skin. Just place the apple in the freezer for five minutes. You don’t want it to be frozen all the way through.
Did you enjoy this recipe for Apple Pie Caramel Apples? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
- Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- Apple Cider Donut Bread Pudding
- Applesauce Cookies with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
If you tried this Apple Pie Caramel Apple Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Apple Pie Caramel Apple
Equipment
- 5 (6”) kebab sticks with pointed ends These sticks are the most sturdy and easiest to use for caramel apples but you could use a popsicle stick in a pinch
Ingredients
- 5 Granny Smith Apples
- 11 oz Chewy Caramel Pieces
- ¼ cup Brown sugar
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- ½ cup Graham Crackers Crumbs, about 9 graham crackers
- 11 oz White Chocolate Chips
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil, optional, but helpful
Instructions
- Wash the apples to remove the wax on the outside. For best results, you can boil water and ¼ cup of white vinegar in a large pot, then add the apples for 10 seconds at a time. Remove the apples from the water and scrub them with a cloth to remove the wax.
- Remove the stem from the apples. Place your kebab sticks where the stem was, going about ½ of the way down in the apple.
- Place your apples in the freezer while you melt your caramel. The cold exterior will help the caramel stay on better.
- In a small/medium pot, melt the caramel pieces according to the package instructions (my package instructed me to add the caramel into the pot alongside 2 Tbsp of water and mix until melted).
- Remove the apples from the freezer and dip in the caramel, placing the coated caramel apples on a cookie sheet afterwards. Dip your apples in peanuts, candy, or sprinkles at this point if desired.
- Place the caramel apples in the fridge until the caramel is set.
- In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and the cinnamon. Stir to combine. Add the graham cracker crumbs into another bowl.
- Create a double boiler and melt the white chocolate chips with the vegetable oil. Dip a caramel apple in the white chocolate, coating the whole thing. Immediately after, dip the bottom half of the caramel apple in the graham cracker crumbs. Then roll the entire chocolate-coated apple in the cinnamon sugar combination.
- Allow the apples to cool on the cookie sheet in the fridge until the chocolate hardens.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Granny Smith Apples: Granny Smith are the most traditional choice, but you could also use Fuji apples or Honeycrisp.
- Chewy Caramel Pieces: There are several different brands that will work for this recipe. You can use Werthers, Brachs or Kraft but be sure and select the soft and chewy caramels, not the hard ones!
- Graham Crackers Crumbs: Graham cracker crumbs are necessary to mimic the pie crust flavor. If you prefer you could also use a cooked and crushed pie crust.
- White Chocolate Chips: For the best results use a high quality white chocolate or white chocolate melts. A tablespoon of vegetable oil will help it melt much smoother
- Caramel will stick to parchment paper or wax paper. A better option is to use a silicone mat or spray your parchment paper with a little bit of nonstick spray. You can also just place your caramel apples directly onto a cookie sheet and carefully remove them later with a spatula.
- You can keep your caramel or chocolate ready to dip with the help of a hot plate, heat pad or slow cooker. Turn it to low or warm heat and place your bowl on top. This is helpful if you plan to make several caramel apples.
