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.

Homemade cinnamon candy apple cut open to show the crisp apple inside

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

Red and green apples with stems removed and wooden sticks ready

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.

Red candy syrup mixture stirred together in a saucepan

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.

Candy syrup boiling with a candy thermometer clipped to the pan

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.

Dipping an apple into hot red candy coating

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.

Letting extra candy drip off the apple over the pot

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.

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