{"title":"How to Make Candy Apples","canonicalUrl":"https://www.showmestepbystep.com/cooking/how-to-make-candy-apples","category":{"slug":"cooking","name":"Cooking"},"creator":{"name":"Cookies Cupcakes and Cardio","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg-YSRB6TsIq-c5PUZ0F1Jg","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3d2G8uTMRA"},"tldr":"Make glossy candy apples at home two ways: classic cooked sugar syrup in any color, or melted Jolly Ranchers. Temperatures, timing and coating tips.","totalDurationSeconds":559,"difficulty":"medium","tools":[],"materials":[],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Step 1: Set Out Your Ingredients","text":"Get everything on the counter before you turn on the stove. Sugar, water, corn syrup, your colors, the sticks, and whatever you are using to decorate.Once the syrup comes off the heat it starts cooling and thickening straight away. There is no time to go hunting for a spatula halfway through."},{"number":2,"title":"Step 2: Prep the Apples and Add Sticks","text":"Wash the apples, pull the stems, and dry them completely. Then push a wooden stick straight down into the top where the stem was.Push it in far enough that it feels solid. You are about to hold the whole weight of the apple by that stick while it is upside down in hot sugar."},{"number":3,"title":"Step 3: Combine the Sugar, Water and Corn Syrup","text":"Three cups of sugar, one cup of water and half a cup of light corn syrup go into a saucepan over medium high heat.The corn syrup is doing real work here. It stops the sugar crystallizing as it cools, which is the difference between a glassy shell and a gritty one."},{"number":4,"title":"Step 4: Cook the Syrup to 250-300F","text":"Let it heat until the thermometer reads somewhere between 250F and 300F.That range is a texture choice, not a mistake. Nearer 300F and the shell shatters when you bite it. Jenn pulls hers at 250F, which stays a little chewy. Do not stir it while it climbs."},{"number":5,"title":"Step 5: Color the Candy","text":"Off the heat, squeeze in the white coloring first and stir it through gently. Then add your main color.It will bubble up when the coloring hits, so stand back a little. Stir slowly. Every extra stir beats more air into the syrup, and those bubbles set into the finished shell.This is also the moment to add a flavoring oil if you want one. Cinnamon is the traditional choice."},{"number":6,"title":"Step 6: Roll the Apple Through the Candy","text":"Tilt the pot to one side so the syrup pools deep, then lower the apple in and turn it.Keep it moving until the skin is covered. Work quickly, because the syrup is thickening from the second it leaves the burner and a cool pot coats unevenly."},{"number":7,"title":"Step 7: Let It Drip, Then Set It Down","text":"Lift the apple clear and hold it over the pot while the excess runs off.Then stand it on a silicone mat or parchment to harden. You will know it is ready when you can lift it without the base sticking behind."},{"number":8,"title":"Step 8: Add Sprinkles or Rock Candy","text":"Once the shell is hard, brush a little piping gel around the top and press on sprinkles or rock candy.Piping gel is the better glue of the two options. Corn syrup works for fine sprinkles but it is runnier, and heavier rock candy slides straight off it."},{"number":9,"title":"Step 9: Melt the Jolly Ranchers","text":"For the second method, unwrap about 50 Jolly Ranchers of a single color into an oven safe pan and put them in at 350F for 15 minutes.Fifty candies coats roughly three apples. Sprinkle edible glitter over the melted candy, stir it through with an oven mitt on, then return it to the oven for another five minutes to loosen back up."},{"number":10,"title":"Step 10: Twirl and Set","text":"Tip the pan on its side so the candy gathers, then twirl the apple through it.This coating is noticeably thicker than the cooked sugar version. Set it down on parchment to harden, then seal the exposed top with piping gel and more glitter or rock candy."}],"recipe":{"servings":"Makes 6 to 8 candy apples","prepMinutes":15,"cookMinutes":20,"cuisine":"American","ingredients":[{"name":"granulated sugar","amount":"3 cups"},{"name":"water","amount":"1 cup"},{"name":"light corn syrup","notes":"regular corn syrup works but adds a yellow tinge","amount":"1/2 cup"},{"name":"apples","notes":"firm red varieties hold the coating best","amount":"6 to 8"},{"name":"white gel food coloring","notes":"goes in first so the color reads solid","amount":"1/2 tsp"},{"name":"gel food coloring","notes":"pink, blue, purple or classic red","amount":"1 tsp"},{"name":"rock candy","notes":"for decorating","amount":"1 cup"},{"name":"sprinkles","amount":"1/2 cup"},{"name":"wooden apple sticks","amount":"6 to 8"},{"name":"Jolly Ranchers","notes":"one color, for the second method; coats about 3 apples","amount":"50"},{"name":"edible glitter","notes":"stirred into the melted Jolly Ranchers","amount":"1 tsp"},{"name":"piping gel","notes":"edible glue for the sprinkles; corn syrup also works","amount":"2 tbsp"}]},"lastUpdated":"2026-08-22T18:14:09.483Z","published":"2026-08-22T18:13:36.545Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}