Disneyland’s confectionaries are some of my favorite places on earth. The cozy atmosphere, the delicious smell of vanilla and sugar floating through the air, and all the yummy treats everywhere you turn like churro toffee and Mickey s’mores. There really is nothing better.
Of all the delicious options, one of my absolute favorites are their caramel apples. Whether it’s a plain caramel apple, a beautifully decorated Mickey or Minnie apple, or even the yummy apple pie option, they’re always a great choice.
So today I’m bringing these delicious caramel apples to you in your own home with my copycat apple pie caramel apple recipe! Let’s get started!
PREPPING THE APPLES
To start, remove the stems and wash each apple. Place them on a paper towel to dry and make sure you get all the water out of the tops as well.
Once the apples are completely dry, take a cake pop stick and put it right where the steam was and push them in until they’re secure but before they poke out of the bottom. Then it’s time to add the ears. Insert two toothpicks halfway into the apple and then place a large marshmallow on the ends each toothpick.
I put the marshmallows on so the flat sides were on the front and back so they had a rounder shape. I would recommend putting the “ears” higher up on the apple then I did because some of them did not turn out the way they should have. I’ll get into that later.
Once the ears are on your apples, set them aside for later.
TO MAKE THE CARAMEL
If you’re looking for a quick easy way to make caramel apples, you could always buy caramels and melt them down but honestly, caramel apples are so much better with homemade caramel and it’s way easier than you may think.
To start, get a large pot and put in 1 cup of unsalted butter. Heat over medium heat until the butter begins to melt. Then add the sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, brown sugar, and salt. Stir constantly over medium heat until everything is melted and the mixture begins to bubble.
Once the mixture begins to boil, continue cooking it at medium heat, stirring only the bottom to prevent burning. Avoid scraping the sides because it can make the caramel grainy.
The mixture will start to get bigger and you’ll see the color change as you stir it. You want to allow it to cook until it reaches 235° on a candy thermometer, or you can use a digital meat thermometer if that’s what you have. Make sure the tip isn’t touching the bottom or sides when you take the temperature. Once it’s reached the right temperature, remove from heat and add the vanilla. Stir to combine and allow the caramel to cool for a few minutes.
ASSEMBLING THE CARAMEL APPLES
Once the caramel has cooled a little bit but is still liquid, it’s time to dip the apples. Something I wish I had done is put a dot of caramel between the apple and marshmallows before dipping them. My ears slid down on some of them so they looked more like Princess Leia buns than Mickey ears haha. I wonder if adding the caramel between the marshmallows and apple and allowing it to set a little bit would have prevented that. Just something to consider when you make yours.
When you dip your apples, swirl it in the caramel and use a spoon to get the top and sides. Make sure you get under the ears do you don’t have empty spots. After you’ve dipped the apple, scrape off the excess caramel on the side of the pan and put the caramel apples onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Put them in the fridge immediately so they set. If you have extra caramel, put it in a glass container to snack on later!
While the caramel is cooling, mix the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl or plate and set aside. Also crumble up the graham crackers and put them in another bowl. Lastly, melt the chocolate down in a pan over low heat so it doesn’t burn or seize up, and allow it to cool for a few minutes before dipping.
Once the caramel is set and the chocolate has cooled a little, dip each apple in the chocolate making sure to cover the entire apple. Lift the apple out of the chocolate and allow it to drip for a minute or two and scrape the excess chocolate off on the edge of the pan.
Next sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture onto the top half of each apple. If the chocolate is still too hot when you do this, it will begin to melt off and the cinnamon sugar will slide off the apple. That’s why I recommend allowing the chocolate to drip off the apples for a minute or two over the pan before you do this so it starts to set a little bit.
Once the cinnamon sugar is on, place each apple in the graham crackers and roll it around so it goes around the bottom of the apple and a little bit up the sides. Place each finished caramel apple on a cookie sheet with clean parchment paper and put them in the fridge as quickly as possible so they can set. Leave them in the fridge for at least an hour before eating.
And just like that, you’ve got a delicious caramel apple inspired by Disneyland’s Apple Pie Caramel Apples.
Store your caramel apples in the fridge and remove about 15 minutes before you want to eat them so the caramel softens a bit. Cut around the cake pop stick, remove the toothpicks from the ears, and enjoy!
This recipe can be adapted to be just a plain caramel apple or you could use milk chocolate to dip them and colored sanding sugar to create character apples too!
For more Disney inspired recipes, you can find all my copycat recipes here!
DISNEYLAND’S APPLE PIE CARAMEL APPLES PRINTABLE RECIPE
Disneyland’s Apple Pie Caramel Apples
Equipment
- Cake pop sticks
- Toothpicks
- Candy thermometer (or digital meat thermometer)
Ingredients
- 10 Granny smith apples
- 20 large marshmallows
For the caramel:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
- 2 1/4 packed cups light brown sugar
- 1 cup corn syrup
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
To assemble:
- 2-3 bags white chocolate chips or melting wafers
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
- 4-6 graham crackers, crushed up
Instructions
- Wash your apples and dry them completely. Next insert a cake pop stick into the core of each apple, stopping before the stick comes out of the bottom of the apple.
- Next, insert two toothpicks into each apple where you want the “ears” to be, leaving half of the toothpick sticking out. Then place a large marshmallow on each toothpick. Set the apples aside.
To make the caramel:
- In a large saucepan, add the butter and begin melting over medium heat.
- Once the butter is about halfway melted, add the sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, brown sugar, and salt. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning, until everything is completely dissolved.
- The mixture will begin to bubble and increase in size. Allow it to continue to cook over medium heat, stirring the bottom often to avoid burning but avoid scrapping the sides of the pan so the caramel doesn’t go grainy. Cook until the caramel reaches 235° on a candy thermometer, or you can use a digital meat thermometer, just make sure the tip doesn’t touch the bottom or sides of the pan when testing the temperature.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and add the vanilla, stirring well to incorporate. Allow the caramel to cool down for a few minutes before dipping the apples.
To assemble the caramel apples:
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Once the caramel has cooled slightly but is still liquid, dip each apple into the caramel and using a spoon, make sure every bit is covered. Scrape the excess caramel off on the side of the pan and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat this process with each apple then quickly place them all in the fridge so the caramel can set.
- Once the caramel apples are set, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. Also crumble up the graham crackers and place in another bowl and set aside.
- In a large pan, melt 2 bags of milk chocolate over low heat so it doesn’t burn or seize. If you’re chocolate is too thick, you can add a little shortening to make it smoother. If it doesn’t look like you have enough chocolate, add the third bag. Once it’s all melted, remove from heat and allow it to cool down for a few minutes before you dip the caramel apples.
- Once the chocolate has cooled a little bit but is still melted, dip each caramel apple and use a spoon to get the chocolate over the entire apple. Lift the apple out of the chocolate and allow it to drip over the pan for a minute or two. Scrape the bottom of the apple on the side of the pan to remove any excess chocolate.
- Next, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top and sides of the apple and then dip the bottom in the crushed graham crackers. Then place each apple back onto a cookie sheet with clean parchment paper. Once they’re all assembled, place them back in the fridge for at least an hour so they can set completely.
- For best results, store the caramel apples in the fridge until you’re ready to eat them. Allow each apple to sit out of the fridge for about 15 minutes before so the caramel can soften before cutting and eating it. Enjoy!
Notes
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! If you have other recipes you’d like to see, leave me a comment and I’ll see what I can do!
