These Snowman Christmas Candy Apples are delicious, adorable and certain to be the topic of conversation at your next holiday party. This recipe will teach you how to make, dip, and decorate the perfect holiday caramel apple—complete with a chocolate top hat and smile.
Looking for more Christmas candy ideas using caramel? You can also try our regular Homemade Caramel Apples, Caramel Candies, Chocolate Covered Caramels, and these Snickers Candy Bars.
Snowman Christmas Candy Apples
These adorable snowmen take gourmet candy apples to the next level. In fact, if you have been to Walt Disney World during the holidays, you may have seen something similar. Underneath that cute top hat and face, you’ll notice a layer of creamy white chocolate which is hiding a smooth, buttery and crisp homemade caramel apple.
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These little guys are perfect for displaying at holiday parties, or putting into individual cellophane bags and giving away as gifts.
While this recipe does take a bit of time to prepare, we’re not going to leave you out to dry. Not only will this recipe guide you through making and decorating caramel apples, you can also refer to our complete guide on How to Make Homemade Caramel Apples.
Key Ingredients
- Apples – any crisp, tart apples such as Granny Smith, Fuji, or Honeycrisp work great. If you use apples that have a waxy layer, you’ll need to soak them in a water and vinegar solution as directed in the instructions below.
- Sticks – you can use popsicle sticks, lollipop sticks, or even clean sticks from your yard.
- Butter – you will need butter for the caramel. If you like your caramel a little more salted, go with salted butter. Otherwise, unsalted works great.
- Sugars – you will need both granulated sugar and light brown sugar for the caramel.
- Karo Syrup – if you can’t find Karo Syrup, you can substitute light corn syrup. It helps the caramel from crystallizing as it cooks.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk – this adds sweetness and keeps the caramel super creamy.
- White Chocolate Wafers – you’ll need white chocolate wafers to dip the caramel apples along with either dark or milk chocolate wafers for making the snowman hats and sticking on the M&Ms for the face.
- Marshmallows – these are for making the snowman hats, so you’ll want to use the regular large marshmallows.
- Oreo Cookies – you really only need the cookie part, so any flat cookie that is roughly the same size would work great.
- M&Ms – these are used to create the eyes and smile. You’ll use a tiny bit of melted chocolate as the “glue” to stick them on. You could also carefully pipe the face using frosting or icing.
How to Make Caramel Apples for Christmas
- Prep the apples. Wash apples to remove any wax by soaking in a half gallon of water with 1 cup of white vinegar for about 10 minutes. Use your hands to gently rub off any wax residue. Rinse the apples in cold water, then dry completely with a dish towel or paper towel. Remove the stem of each apple and insert a wooden dowel or stick into the top, about ¾ of the way through.
- Cook the caramel. In a large nonstick Dutch oven pot over medium low heat, melt the butter. Add sugar, brown sugar, Karo syrup, and sweetened condensed milk and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F.
- Let the caramel cool slightly. Take the caramel off the heat and stir in the salt and the vanilla, then let the caramel cool for about 5 minutes.
- Dip the apples. Carefully take each apple by the stick and dip into the hot caramel all the way up to the stick, then lift it out of the caramel and swirl gently to let the excess caramel drip back into the pot. Once dipped, set each caramel dipped apple onto your prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining apples, letting the caramel cool to room temperature.
- Dip in white chocolate. Melt white chocolate as directed. Take a completely set caramel apple, hold it by the stick and dip into the white chocolate, tilting the bowl if necessary to submerge the entire apple. Once coated, remove from the chocolate, give a couple of gentle shakes to remove excess and place back down on your Silpat lined sheet tray. Repeat with the rest of the apples, then allow to set completely at room temperature.
Decorating the Christmas Candy Apples
- Melt the chocolate. Place the dark or milk chocolate wafers in a microwave safe bowl and warm for about 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until completely melted but not too hot. Set aside.
- Make the snowman top hats. Twist apart Oreos, scrape off the frosting and dip each half in the melted dark or milk chocolate. Set on a parchment paper lined sheet tray to cool. Next, stick a toothpick into the top of a large marshmallow, dip completely into the same melted chocolate, and place onto the center of a chocolate-dipped Oreo half. Repeat until all chocolate “top hats” are dipped.
- Make the snowman face. Use brown M&Ms to make the Snowman’s eyes and smile. Using your fingers, dip one into chocolate slightly just to get enough to hold it like glue onto the side of the apple. Position as desired and hold for a bit until set. Continue until all Snowman Caramel Apples are decorated.
- Allow to set. Allow to set completely, then store in the fridge (loosely covered) for up to 3 days, or enjoy immediately!
Frequently Asked Questions
Wilton brand white chocolate wafers are made for melting and dipping. They are incredibly user friendly and can be found in many grocery stores or craft stores.
You can also use white chocolate chips, but if you go this route you’ll want to add about 1 teaspoon of coconut oil. Chocolate chips have extra ingredients added to them that keep them from melting down to a fluid chocolate, meaning it would be too thick to dip your apples into all on its own.
Chocolate wafers melt really well in the microwave, as long as you follow a couple of easy tips. Since chocolate burns so easily, you only want to heat for about 30 seconds at a time. Always be sure to stir in between, even if it doesn’t look like the chocolate wafers have melted at all. Once your chocolate is almost completely melted, with just a few chunks, you may want to drop down to 20 seconds and test on your fingers to make sure it isn’t too hot.
If you are having trouble getting the melted chocolate to stick your M&Ms to the apples, the chocolate may be too warm. Try waiting until it cools down a bit, or toss it into the fridge for a few minutes to cool it down. The thicker and cooler it gets, the easier it will be to stick the candies onto the caramel apples.
Storing Instructions
- Refrigerator: store your caramel apples in the fridge, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.
- Room Temperature: you can also store caramel apples, loosely covered with plastic wrap, in a cool, dark spot at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Snowman Christmas Caramel Apples Recipes
Ingredients
Homemade Caramel
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup karo syrup
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Snowman Caramel Apples
- 8 whole granny smith apples
- 3 cups white chocolate wafers, melted
- 2 cups dark chocolate wafers, melted
- 8 large marshmallows
- 8 Oreo cookies, separated with frosting removed
- 2 cups M&Ms, brown
Equipment
- 8 sticks popsicle, lollipop or similar
Instructions
Prepping the Apples
- Wash apples to remove any wax by soaking in a half gallon of water with 1 cup of white vinegar for about 10 minutes. Use your hands to gently rub off any wax residue. Rinse the apples in cold water, then dry completely with a dish towel or paper towel.
- Remove the stem of each apple and insert a wooden dowel or stick into the top, about ¾ of the way through.
- Prepare a baking sheet by either spraying with nonstick cooking spray or using a Silpat.
Making the Caramel
- In a large nonstick Dutch oven over medium heat, add the butter. Melt, then add the sugar, brown sugar, Karo syrup, salt, and sweetened condensed milk . Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Using a candy thermometer, cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F.
- Once it reaches 240 degrees, take the caramel off the heat and stir in the salt and the vanilla, then let the caramel cool for about 5 minutes.
Dipping the Apples
- Carefully take each apple by the stick and dip into the hot caramel all the way up to the stick, then lift it out of the caramel and swirl gently to let the excess caramel drip back into the pot.
- Once dipped, set each caramel dipped apple onto your prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining apples, letting the caramel cool to room temperature.
Dipping the Apples in White Chocolate
- Place the white chocolate wafers in a microwave safe bowl and warm for about 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until completely melted but not too hot.
- Take a completely set caramel apple, hold it by the stick and dip into the white chocolate, tilting the bowl if necessary to submerge the entire apple.
- Once coated, remove from the chocolate, give a couple of gentle shakes to remove excess, and place back down on your parchment lined sheet tray. Repeat with the rest of the apples, then allow to set completely at room temperature.
Adding Snowman Decorations
- Place the dark or milk chocolate wafers in a microwave safe bowl and warm for about 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until completely melted but not too hot. Set aside.
- To make the Snowman hats: Twist apart Oreos, scrape off the frosting and dip each half in the melted dark chocolate. Set on a parchment paper lined sheet tray to cool. Next, stick a toothpick into the top of a large marshmallow, dip completely into the same melted chocolate, and place onto the center of a chocolate-dipped Oreo half. Repeat until all chocolate "hats" are dipped.
- To make the Snowman face: Use brown M&Ms to make the Snowman's eyes and smile. Using your fingers, dip one (logo side) into chocolate just enough to get it to hold it like glue. Position as desired and hold for a bit until set. Continue until all Snowman Caramel Apples are decorated.
- Allow to set completely, then store in the fridge (loosely covered) for up to 3 days, or enjoy immediately!
Notes
Nutrition
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These Snowman Caramel Apples are as tasty as they are adorable. Serve at your next holiday party or wrap individually in cellophane for a unique homemade gift.
Categories:
Candy, Christmas, Desserts, Gluten-Free, Holiday Favorites, Nut-Free, Reader Favorites, Vegetarian, Winter Recipes,
