How to Make Toffee Apples

Co-authored by Eric McClure

Last Updated: August 8, 2023 Tested

VIDEO

The changing leaves and cool weather are great, but what’s autumn without some delicious treats? Pumpkin pie is delicious and everything, but the toffee apple is a classic snack that sits in a category of its own. If you’ve never made these caramel-coated treats yourself, you’re in luck. They’re excellent when they’re fresh, and making your own toffee is so much more satisfying than buying pre-packaged toffee apples at the grocery store. Just be careful when you’re chowing down on your delicious apples—they’re notorious for damaging teeth!

Ingredients

4-8 apples
0.5 cups (120 mL) of water
2 cups (400 g) of golden caster sugar
4 US tbsp (59 mL) of golden syrup
1 tsp (4.9 mL) of vinegar

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Prepping Your Apples

1
Pick 4-8 healthy apples and remove the stickers. You can use any variety of red or green apple to make your toffee apples, but Fuji and Granny Smith are probably the most popular options. Grab up to 8 apples and remove the stickers if they have any.^{[1]
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- Gala apples are great if you’re looking for a sweeter variety.
2
Wash and dry your apples thoroughly to clean them off. Wash the apples thoroughly under warm water and rub them with your hands to remove any dirt or residue. Dry each apple by hand with a clean cloth or paper towel.^{[2]
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- If you want to remove the waxy layer of each apple, boil some water and pour it over your apples in a bowl. Let them soak for 15-30 seconds and lift them out with a slotted spoon. Dry each apple by hand once they’re cool enough to handle.^{[3]
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- Seriously, give them a good drying. You don’t want any moisture on the apple skin. The toffee won’t stick as well if your apples are moist.
3
Twist the stems off of each apple by hand. Grab an apple and pinch the stem between two fingers. Then, rotate the apple in either direction a few times with your free hand to weaken it. Pull the stem away from the apple and it should snap right out. Repeat this process with each of your apples.^{[4]
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- You can’t really clip the stems off with scissors since you won’t get the portion of the stem that’s embedded in the apples.
4
Push a wooden skewer or lolly stick into the stalk-end of each apple. Grab a wooden skewer or lolly stick for each toffee apple you’re making. Insert a skewer or stick into the opening of each apple where the stem used to be. Embed the stick or skewer roughly halfway into each apple to make the handles for your caramel-coated treats.^{[5]
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- It shouldn’t be especially hard to insert your skewers or sticks. If you do find it kind of hard to do this, you can stick a fork into the end of each apple to make a small opening for the skewer or stick.^{[6]
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- You can also use plastic lollipop sticks if you prefer. It won’t make a difference one way or another.
5
Lay a sheet of parchment paper out on a sheet pan. Get a large sheet pan or baking dish and line it with parchment paper. When you’re ready to dip your apples, this is where you’re going to put them to dry. Leave this pan on the counter closest to your stove. You’ll have to work fast once the toffee is heated and this will save you time.^{[7]
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- You can use aluminum foil and brush it with vegetable oil if you prefer.^{[8]
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6
Fill small bowls with any toppings you plan on adding. Get out a separate bowl for each topping you’re going to add. Fill each bowl up with a few handfuls of your preferred topping. Crushed pretzels, nuts, or graham crackers are popular crunchy options. You can also use mini-marshmallows or sprinkles if you have a bit of a sweet tooth!^{[9]
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- You don’t have to add any toppings if you don’t want to. Regular toffee apples are extremely popular for a reason!
- You will need about ½ cup (75 g) of topping per apple.^{[10]
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  Research source} The amount of each topping you need depends on how many apples you’re making, though.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Making the Toffee

1
Heat 0.5 cups (120 mL) of water over medium heat. Grab a small or medium-sized sauce pan and set it out on your stove. Measure out 0.5 cups (120 mL) of water and pour it in. Set the heat to medium to start heating the water up.^{[11]
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- These measurements may not sound like enough, but you really don’t need a lot of toffee to coat your apples. Still, if you’re making more than 8 apples, feel free to double the measurements here. Just use a large sauce pan if you do this.
2
Melt 2 cups (400 g) of golden caster sugar in the water. Measure out your golden caster sugar and pour it very slowly into the water. Do not mix, but you can use the back of a wooden spoon or a fork to break up any clumps of sugar that form in the water. Wait 3-5 minutes for the sugar to completely disappear in the water.^{[12]
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- If you mix the sugar and water, some of the sugar is going to stick to the sides of your pan and crystalize. This can give your toffee a bit of an odd texture.
- The golden caster sugar is ideal for toffee apples since it has a caramel undertone, but you can use white caster sugar if you can’t find the golden variety.^{[13]
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3
Mix in 4 US tbsp (59 mL) of golden syrup and 1 tsp (4.9 mL) of vinegar. Once the sugar is dissolved, measure out and add your golden syrup. Then, add a little white vinegar to give your toffee a bit of bite. Gently mix the ingredients together with a wooden spoon or whisk until the color is uniform and the texture is smooth.^{[14]
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- Golden syrup, often known as treacle, is a thick liquid made of refined sugar and citric acid. It’s similar to corn syrup, but it’s more acidic.^{[15]
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  Research source} Unfortunately, there are no good substitutions here.
- Some recipes call for butter instead of golden syrup. While there’s nothing wrong with using butter, your toffee will taste kind of buttery instead of sweet. This is normally one of the main distinctions between toffee apples and caramel apples.
4
Bring the sugary mixture to a rolling boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn the heat up to high or medium-high and wait for your ingredients to start boiling. Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to simmer and set a timer for 20 minutes.^{[16]
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- If any chunks of sugar start forming on the surface of the mixture, use a pastry brush to wipe them up.
5
Turn the heat off once the toffee is “hard cracked” at 300 °F (149 °C). Insert a candy thermometer into the mixture and check it after 20 minutes to make sure the toffee is 300 °F (149 °C). If you don’t have a candy thermometer, use a spoon to pour a little bit of hot toffee into a cup of cold water. If the toffee hardens instantly in the water, your toffee is “hard cracked” and you’re ready to go!^{[17]
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- As you heat sugar and water together, the water evaporates.^{[18]
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  Research source} When less than 1% of the water remains, the sugar is “hard cracked” and will turn solid when it cools.^{[19]
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  Research source} If your mixture isn’t hard cracked, the toffee won’t harden on your apples after you dip them.
- You can stir in a little red food coloring before proceeding if you want to make your toffee apples look like candy apples.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Dipping and Drying the Apples

1
Tilt the sauce pan up a little and wait for the bubbles to dissipate. Once your toffee is hard cracked, you’re ready for dipping. Turn the heat off and lift the pan up a bit so the toffee pools up against the side of the pot. Wait a few seconds for any bubbles to disappear.^{[20]
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- If there are bubbles on the top of the toffee and you dip your apples in, the bubbles will transfer to your apples and you won’t get a smooth coating of toffee. This may actually be a good thing if you want to make wart-covered decorative toffee apples for Halloween!
2
Dip and twist your first apple into the hot toffee. Continue holding the sauce pan at an angle and use your free hand to pick up your first apple by the handle. Submerge the apple in the toffee and spin it around by twisting the skewer in your fingers. This helps cover every section of the apple in toffee.^{[21]
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- You don’t need to soak the apple in the toffee or anything. The toffee sticks to the apple’s skin as soon as you dip it. You aren’t “adding more” toffee by leaving the apple in the toffee for longer.
3
Lift the apple up and let the excess toffee drip back into the pan. Once each portion of the apple is covered, slowly lift it out of the toffee. Hold it for a few seconds and wait for all of the extra toffee to drip off.^{[22]
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- The toffee is really hot, so don’t turn the apple upwards after you’ve removed it. Just hold the apple with the skewer or stick on top so the apple dangles underneath. If any hot toffee does drip off, it won’t land on your skin.
4
Lower the toffee apple into any dry toppings you’re using. If you have any toppings you’re using, now’s the time to add them. Lower the wet apple on top of your dry topping bowl and carefully spin it around. Your dry toppings will stick to the surface of your wet toffee.^{[23]
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- You can always sprinkle your dry toppings on to the apples if you prefer. It won’t make much of a difference either way.
- You don’t have to add anything to your toffee apples if you don’t want to. In fact, plain toffee apples may be the most popular version!
Keep the skewer or lolly stick on top of the apple. Move the apple over to your sheet pan and set the toffee apple down. Don’t worry if the toffee pools up a little underneath. This is totally normal—it just means you’ll have a few bites with a little extra toffee in them!^{[24]
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6
Repeat this dipping process for each apple you’re making. Continue tilting the toffee up a little, dipping your apples, and setting them down on the sheet pan. If you’re adding any dry toppings, roll each apple around in the toppings before putting it on the pan.^{[25]
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- If the toffee in your sauce pan starts to thicken or harden before you’re done, reheat it on the stove for a few minutes until it turns back into a liquid.
7
Wait 10-15 minutes for the toffee to cool off and harden before eating. The toffee will harden pretty quickly, but just wait 10-15 minutes to play it safe. Once your toffee apples are hardened, peel them off of the parchment paper and enjoy!^{[26]
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- If you’d like, you can sprinkle a little cinnamon or confectionary sugar on top of your apples before serving them if you’d like!
- Your apples should be good for up to 2 days. Set them on a plate and cover them in plastic wrap. You can store them at room temperature or in the fridge.
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Question

Why do some recipes for toffee apples use golden syrup while others do not?

Qamar

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Some toffee apple recipes use different types of syrups for different flavors and textures.

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Do I have to use vinegar for these toffee apples, even if I dislike vinegar?

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Yes. The vinegar helps to harden the toffee apple, and also adds flavor.

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How do I make a toffee thicker?

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Add more sugar to caramelize it more to make it thicker.

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Tips

A lot of people mix up the terms candy apple, toffee apple, and caramel apple. While caramel and toffee apples are basically identical (the main difference is usually butter), candy apples were originally made with hard-shell candy coating. Today, most people add red food coloring to toffee or caramel to make a version of the candy apple.^{[27]
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Warnings

Once it’s boiling, the toffee is extremely hot. Only dip the apples with the skewer or stick on top to keep the toffee from dripping on to your hands.

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If you’re worried about your teeth or you’re serving these treats to a child with a loose tooth, slice them up and eat them in smaller pieces. These sticky, round apples can damage your teeth if you aren’t careful.^{[28]
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