Make caramel apples

Caramel apples take about an hour, and most of that is waiting for the caramel to set. They’re more fun with a friend or two: one person dips, the other does the toppings, and you eat the mistakes.

Pick your apples

Small to medium apples are easier to dip and much easier to eat. Granny Smith is the classic, because the sour apple cuts through the sweet caramel and stays crisp. If you’d rather go sweet, Honeycrisp, Gala and Fuji all work. Choose firm apples without bruises.

Get the wax off

This is the step most people skip, and it’s why caramel slides off. Most shop apples are coated in a thin, food-safe wax to keep them shiny, and caramel doesn’t grip wax.

1. Dip each apple in very hot water for a few seconds.
2. Rub it firmly with a clean towel. The skin goes from shiny to matte.
3. Dry it completely. Even a little water will make the caramel slip.

Apples picked straight from a farm usually have no wax, so you can just wash and dry them.

Then twist the stem off and push a stick into the top, about halfway down. Wooden craft sticks or lollipop sticks work best. A cinnamon stick or a clean twig looks lovely for photos.

Store-bought or homemade caramel

Store-bought is the easy way, and it tastes great. Unwrap an 11 oz bag of soft caramels (the slowest part, so do it together) and melt them with 2 tablespoons of milk or cream. Use a small saucepan over low heat, or the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring each time until smooth. One bag covers about five small apples.

Homemade is richer and makes enough for about a dozen apples. You’ll need:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, then stir in the sugar, corn syrup and condensed milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring all the time so it doesn’t catch, until it reaches 235°F (the soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer. Take it off the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Either way, let the caramel cool for a few minutes before you dip. Too hot and it runs straight off the apple, and it can burn you. It’s ready when it coats the back of a spoon thickly.

Dip and decorate

1. Line a tray with parchment paper and butter it lightly so the apples don’t stick.
2. Hold an apple by its stick and turn it in the caramel, tilting the pan so it coats the sides.
3. Lift it and let the extra drip off for a few seconds while you twist it.
4. Scrape the bottom against the edge of the pan. This stops a puddle of caramel forming under the apple.
5. Roll it in toppings straight away, while the caramel is still tacky.
6. Set it on the tray. When they’re all done, chill the tray for 15 to 20 minutes to set.

Topping ideas

• Chopped peanuts, pecans or toffee bits
• Mini chocolate chips or crushed pretzels
• Crushed graham crackers and a pinch of cinnamon, for apple pie
• Flaky sea salt, for salted caramel
• Sprinkles in fall colours
• A drizzle of melted white or dark chocolate, once the caramel has set

If something goes wrong

• The caramel slides off. There’s wax or water on the apple. Wash, rub and dry the next ones properly.
• A puddle forms under each apple. The caramel is too hot and thin. Let it cool for a few minutes, and scrape the bottoms.
• Toppings won’t stick. The caramel has already set. Roll each apple as soon as it comes out of the pan.
• The caramel is too stiff to dip. Warm it gently and stir in a spoonful of cream.

Keeping and eating them

Keep caramel apples in the fridge if you’re not eating them the same day, and eat them within a few days. In 2014, a listeria outbreak in the US was traced to packaged caramel apples. Researchers later found that the stick lets apple juice collect between the apple and the caramel, where bacteria can grow at room temperature.

Biting into a whole one is half the fun, but slicing is easier for sharing. Use a sharp knife and cut it into wedges around the core.

Make it a fall evening

Make them on a Friday night with a fall movie on, take a box to a Halloween party, or make a batch after you’ve been apple picking and have more apples than you know what to do with.