You have to be pretty confident in your dental work to eat these! Beth lost her first tooth while eating a candy apple. What a sweet treat for the tooth fairy! Candy apples always remind me of Halloween carnivals, so we usually come home after trick-or-treating (yes, I still dress up!) and make these with our friends and all of the children. I’m not sure who eats more, the kids or the adults.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Set aside.
Put the chopped nuts in a shallow bowl. Set aside. Wash the apples thoroughly. Remove the stems from the apples and insert a stick into the center of the bottom of each apple. To remove any wax that may coat the apples, dip each apple quickly in the boiling water. Drain and dry the apple.
In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar, ½ cup water, and syrup to a boil. Cook to 250°F, or until the syrup spins a thread when poured from the edge of a cooking spoon. Pour in the candy pieces and continue cooking to 285°F. Remove from the heat and add the food coloring to achieve the desired shade of red.
Dip the apples quickly in the hot mixture, twisting as you dip to cover the entire apple. Roll the apples in the nuts, coating the bottom half of each apple. Place on the greased cookie sheet and allow the coating to cool and harden. (The syrup can be reheated if it cools too much during the dipping process.)
Recipe Notes
Substitute 1 drop of cinnamon oil or peppermint oil for the Red Hots candy.