Mahalo’s expert chef Jennifer Martello shows you how to make perfect candy apples.

Candy apples are a classic treat enjoyed in autumn, especially around Halloween. This guide on how to make perfect candy apples offers tips and advice on preparing delicious candy apples.

The candy apple is prepared by dipping fresh
apples into a candy coating, and allowing for it to dry, creating a hard candy shell. The coating can be dyed using food coloring to match any theme, and a number of toppings can be added to the candy apple to suit any taste. While the recipe is simple to follow, candy apples should be prepared with caution and with the supervision of an adult, as the candy coating becomes hot as it cooks.

Preparing candy apples can be a fun project for cooks of all ages and skill level. Read on to learn how to make perfect candy apples.

Step 1: Gather Your Equipment
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1. Wooden skewers or popsicle sticks

* 2. Buy them at your local grocery or

party supply store.
* 3. You can also buy bamboo skewers and cut them in half.

Candy thermometer

* 5. A candy thermometer is very important, especially if you’re making candy apples for the first time. You’ll need it to make sure your heated sugar reaches the right stage of completion. Judging otherwise can easily lead you to burnt or underdone coatings. However, the thermometer is not necessary if you are just melting chocolate.

* 6. Make sure your thermometer’s accurate. Being off by just a few degrees can mean the difference between delicious and burnt. To check its accuracy, clip on your candy thermometer and set a pot of water to boil. The thermometer should read 212 degrees Fahrenheit or 100 degrees Celsius when the water is boiling. If not, note what temperature it reads at and adjust for the difference.

7. Pot for making the candy coating

8. Second container, bigger than your cooking pot

* 9. If you heat your coating to a high enough temperature, you’ll fill this container with cold water to submerge and cool the pot with your candy apple coating.

10. Tray or baking sheet (for completed apples)

* 11. Aluminum foil: you’ll need this if you do not want to put your finished apples directly on an oiled baking sheet, tray, or serving platter.

* 12. Alternatively, you can top your baking sheet with a silpat mat.

13. Measuring cups and spoons

14. Wooden spoon

15. Pastry brush, to keep sugar from crystallizing as you work

16. Extra bowls for additional toppings

Step 2: Choosing Your Apples
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Making a candy apple is about pairing the sweetness of candy with the right apple. It’s exquisite to pair a tart apple with a sweet candy exterior. Of course, if you can’t stand tart apples, then pick a sweeter one. However, you want to eschew varieties like Red Delicious, which lacks the firmness required for candy apples, and Rome Beauty, which is primarily used in
baking. Recommended apples include:

* * Braeburn: Golden-green to red skin, firm, sweetly tart

* * Fuji: Yellow-green skin, firm, sweet

* * Golden Delicious: golden skin, firm, sweet

* * Granny Smith: green skin, very firm, tart

* * Jonathan: Yellow-red skin, firm, sweetly tart

* * Jonagold: A hybrid of Jonathan and Golden Delicious, firm skin, tangily sweet

* * Lady: Red to yellow skin, firm, sweetly tart

* * McIntosh: Reddish-green skin, firm, sweetly tart

1. Choose smaller apples – they’ll be easier to make, easier to eat, and will give you a better candy to apple ratio!

2. Store-bought apples are usually coated with wax, which makes it more difficult to coat them. If possible, buy apples at a farmer’s market. Or you can go apple picking and get your own fresh off the tree!

3. If you have no choice but to use wax-coated apples, quickly dip them in boiling water and then wipe away the wax coating.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/1024274. Chill the apples in the refrigerator until you’re ready to start making candy apples.

Step 3: Prepare Your Kitchen
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* Get everything gathered before you put the sugar on the stove. You don’t want to rush off for your pastry brush and come back to find a pot full of crystallized sugar.

1. Put your pastry brush in a cup of warm water.

2. Butter your baking sheet or tray (or aluminum foil) so it’s ready to hold coated apples.

3. Fill the second,