Homemade Cinnamon Candy Apples with Red Hots
These homemade cinnamon candy apples have a glassy red shell that cracks when you bite into it and a cold, crisp apple underneath. The flavor comes from a handful of Red Hot candies melted right into the sugar syrup, so the coating tastes like warm cinnamon instead of plain sugar. This candy apple recipe only needs sugar, light corn syrup, water, Red Hots, red food coloring, and 8 small apples, and it takes about an hour of hands-on time plus another hour for the candy to set.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Homemade Candy Apples
- Serves: 4
- Main Ingredients: sugar, water, light corn syrup, Cinnamon Red Hot Candies, red food coloring, wooden ice cream sticks, apples
- Why You'll Love It: Take a step back in time when you bite into one of these classic homemade candy apples. Sweet on the outside and crisp on the inside, these candy apples are so easy and fun to make!
We used to make these year-round in my family, and it never had to be fair season or fall weather for us to pull out the candy thermometer. They still make the perfect take-home treat for a Halloween party or a kid’s birthday, and they look right at home next to the rest of my Halloween recipes. If you’d rather go the chewy route, my chocolate caramel apples are just as much fun to make.
Why Red Hots Make the Best Candy Apples
A lot of candy apple recipes use plain sugar syrup and food coloring, which gives you the look of a fair candy apple without much flavor. Stirring Red Hot cinnamon candies into the pot is what gives these the taste of a classic county fair candy apple, and the candies help tint the coating such a deep red that you don’t need much food coloring at all. The shell sets up hard and shiny, more like a lollipop than a caramel, so expect a real crunch.
If hard candy is rough on your teeth, you can do what I do and make these for the kids, then save your own sweet tooth for candied apples you eat with a fork. They have all of the cinnamon flavor and none of the crunch.
Ingredients for Cinnamon Candy Apples
- Apples: Small, firm apples are easiest to coat and easiest to eat. I like tart Granny Smith apples because they balance the sweet shell, but a crisp red apple like Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Jonagold works well too.
- Red Hot candies: These melt into the syrup and flavor the whole coating. Any cinnamon candy like Red Hots will do the job.
- Light corn syrup: It helps keep the sugar from crystallizing so the shell turns out smooth and glassy instead of grainy. Golden syrup works too.
- Red food coloring: I don’t measure it too carefully and just give it a good splash. The Red Hots add plenty of color on their own.
- Sticks: If you can’t find candy apple sticks, look in the kids’ craft section for wooden craft sticks or grab wooden skewers from the grilling aisle. I’ve even used forks from my kitchen drawer, and when you’re done they go right in the dishwasher.
You’ll find the full amounts in the recipe card below.
Helpful Tips Before You Start
- Wash and dry the apples well. Store-bought apples usually have a waxy coating, and hot candy won’t cling to a waxy or damp apple. Rinse them under warm water and dry them completely with a towel.
- Trust your candy thermometer. The syrup needs to reach 290°F, and depending on your stove that can take 20 to 25 minutes. Clip the thermometer to the side of the pan so the tip doesn’t touch the bottom. A good thermometer earns its keep all season, and you’ll use it again for cream cheese divinity at Christmas.
- Don’t stir once it boils. Stirring a boiling sugar syrup can make it crystallize, and you’ll end up with a cloudy, grainy coating.
- Get set up before the syrup is ready. Have the apples on their sticks, a greased baking sheet or buttered parchment paper, and a hot pad by the stove, because the candy starts to firm up quickly once it comes off the heat.
- Keep little ones back during dipping. This syrup is far hotter than boiling water. Let the kids help with wrapping and ribbons instead.
How to Make Candy Apples at Home
1Prep the Apples
Wash and dry the apples, then twist off the stems by holding the stem in one hand and the apple in the other. Push a wooden stick about halfway into each apple through the stem end, and set them next to a greased baking sheet or buttered parchment paper.
2Stir Together the Candy Syrup
Add the sugar, light corn syrup, water, Red Hots, and red food coloring to a heavy medium saucepan and give it a gentle stir just to combine.
3Boil to 290°F Without Stirring
Clip on a candy thermometer and bring the syrup to a boil over medium heat. Keep cooking without stirring until it reaches 290°F, about 20 to 25 minutes, then move the pan off the heat and onto a hot pad.
4Dip and Swirl
Working quickly, dip an apple into the hot candy and swirl it until it’s evenly coated, then hold it over the pot for a few seconds so the extra can drip off. If the candy starts to thicken before you’re done, set the pan over very low heat for a minute.
5Let Them Set
Set each apple on the prepared pan and let them cool for at least an hour, until the shell is completely hard. If you’re short on time, you can speed things up in the refrigerator.
Tilt the pan as you go: Once you’ve dipped a few apples, the candy gets shallow fast. Tipping the pan to one side pools the syrup so the last apples get just as thick a coat as the first ones.
Serving and Wrapping Candy Apples
For a party, set the candy apples out on a tray next to a big bowl of homemade caramel corn and a crock of slow cooker caramel apple cider so folks can help themselves. If you’re feeding a crowd at a fall get-together, a pan of caramel apple dump cake or a plate of baked apple cider donuts rounds out the dessert table nicely.
To give them as party favors, wait until they’re completely cool, then slip each apple into a small cellophane or plastic bag and tie it around the stick with a ribbon. Kids love taking one home.
More Old-Fashioned Apple Recipes
Candy Apple FAQs
How long do candy apples last?
They’re best the day you make them, while the shell is still glossy and crisp. Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator and enjoy them within two days, because after that the candy coating tends to turn sticky.
Why is my candy coating sticky instead of hard?
Most of the time it means the syrup didn’t get quite hot enough, so wait until your thermometer reads a full 290°F before you pull the pan off the heat. Humid days can also leave the shell a little tacky, so a dry day is the best time to make them.
Can I make candy apples without Red Hots?
Yes. Leave them out and add a little more red food coloring, and you’ll have a plain sugar candy apple. You’ll lose the cinnamon flavor, though, and that’s what makes these taste like the ones from the fair.
Homemade Cinnamon Candy Apples
Ingredients
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup Cinnamon Red Hot Candies
- 1/4 tsp red food coloring I just give it a good splash
- 8 wooden ice cream sticks
- 8 small apples
Instructions
- Wash the apples under warm water and dry them completely. Twist off the stems and push a wooden stick about halfway into each apple through the stem end. Grease a baking sheet or line it with buttered parchment paper.3 cups sugar, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1/4 cup Cinnamon Red Hot Candies, 1/4 tsp red food coloring, 1 cup water
- In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, Red Hot candies, red food coloring, and 1 cup of water. Stir gently just to combine.3 cups sugar, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1/4 cup Cinnamon Red Hot Candies, 1/4 tsp red food coloring, 1 cup water
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat without stirring. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, making sure the tip doesn’t touch the bottom, and continue cooking without stirring until it reaches 290°F, about 20 to 25 minutes.3 cups sugar, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1/4 cup Cinnamon Red Hot Candies, 1/4 tsp red food coloring, 1 cup water
- Remove the pan from the heat and set it on a hot pad. Working quickly, dip and swirl each apple in the candy until evenly coated, then hold it over the pot for a few seconds so the extra can drip off. If the candy starts to thicken, set the pan over very low heat for a minute.3 cups sugar, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1/4 cup Cinnamon Red Hot Candies, 1/4 tsp red food coloring, 1 cup water
- Place the apples on the prepared baking sheet and let them cool for at least 1 hour, until the coating is hard. You can speed this up in the refrigerator.3 cups sugar, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1/4 cup Cinnamon Red Hot Candies, 1/4 tsp red food coloring, 1 cup water
How cinnamon-y do these taste? I don’t remember the candy apples from the fair tasting like cinnamon at all, just crunchy-candy goodness… So I’m hoping for a very light (or non-existant) cinnamon taste.
Thanks!
Okay if you remember apples from the fair you’ll understand this: they just taste candy apple-y. Lol. Not cinnamony. There aren’t enough red hots to add that in. Hope I make sense!
That makes complete sense! Thanks so much, Christy! These will be so fun to make!
Thank goodness you can read my mind a little! Even I thought I sounded a little loony in that answer, lol.
Well, I actually WOULD like to have Red-Hot heat and flavor on a candy apple. How many Red Hots could I add? Could I also add actual cinnamon? How would that change the texture?
Hey Nicole!
I don’t believe adding any more red hots will make it taste a spicier but you can definitely try cinnamon. I might look at adding a pinch or two of cayenne along with the regular recipe but I’ve never varied from this one so report back if you try it!
Cinnamon oil, along with the Red Hots candies would give you that added heat & flavor.
I’m 35 and still do the “alphabet game” – maybe if I ever get married I’ll stop. I’ve also been known to choose the letter I want and forcibly remove the stem whether it was ready to come off or not…. clearly that trick has NOT worked 🙂
That’s funny that people didn’t know what an “eye” was…I have never heard anyone in the South refer to it as a burner!
The candy apples look soo pretty, but I’m with you – too dangerous in the dental department!
I’ve never been into the candied apple, but they look so pretty Christy that you make me want one!!
I just made a similar recipe this past weekend with my grandson and what a good time we shared! But there is one VERY important word in the recipe buttered!!!!! I missed the little 8 letter word and all the apples adhered to the wax paper & the paper became one with the apple. In my world eating around the paper was just fine! Thanks for all your great recipes!
If I had a dime for every time I’ve done that exact same thing I could take us all on a cruise! Hate that it happened but forgive me for finding solace in not being the only one! lol
I always use parchment paper – no buttering required! Thanks for the recipe; I’ll be using it tomorrow afternoon to make candy apples for my neighbourhood street fair 🙂
Oh My goodness, Christy. I didn’t know anyone else twisted the stems off and said the alphabet. I had forgotten about that. The candied apples look so great. Will try them . Look forward to yoyr posts . They make my day. Enjoy reading all.
What a fun recipe! As for saying the ABCs when you twist off the apple stem, we used to count and the last number you said before it came off was how many babies you would have someday! Haven’t thought off that little game in ages 🙂
Lynnette thanks for the memory bump!… We counted to see how many children we’d have too!! Like you I haven’t thought of that in years!
I had to tell you I tryed your daddys covonut cake OMGOODNESS delicious I tweeked it a little. I accidently bought the sweetened coconut. So I decreased recipe to one cup of sugar, then I sprinkled some coconut on top (OUTSTANDING) . THANK You.