Salted Turtle Caramel Apples

Salted Turtle Caramel Apples are homemade caramel apples drizzled with melted chocolate, toasted pecans and flaky sea salt!

I have this thing for caramel apples…a pretty serious thing.  If I go to a candy shop, there are two things I can’t resist — almond toffee and caramel apples.  

I normally like my caramel apples with chopped almonds or peanuts, and chocolate certainly doesn’t hurt either.   The thing is, most of the time the apple itself is mushy or too tart or just straight up unworthy of the luscious caramel it’s coated in.

 I finally took matters in my own hands and made my own homemade caramel apples, so I can scratch this item off of the old bucket list. 🙂

Turtle caramel apples

I love my using Granny Smith apples for my caramel apples because the tartness is the perfect balance with the caramel.  You can use your favorite apples, however, because this caramel is so delicious, there’s no going wrong here.  

Unless of course your apples aren’t up to par, and we already discussed that.  🙂

For years I’ve wanted to make caramel apples, and I had no idea how easy it is until I started reading up on it.  

How to make caramel apples

Basically, all the caramel ingredients go into one pan, and they’re heated until a candy thermometer registers 240 degrees, or soft ball stage.  

So yes, you do need a candy thermometer, but this recipe is not intimidating whatsoever.  It’s no-fail, super simple stuff here.

The caramel does get hard quickly, and when that happens, all you need to do is heat it over low heat for a minute or two, stir it, and get back to dipping.  

And if you have leftovers, you can make caramels or just use it as a dip!  It’s really that simple, and what a fun Halloween treat.

I’ve always been a big fan of the turtle combination, and I was so excited to try it on these caramel apples.   Needless to say, this was one delicious combination — luscious caramel, melted chocolate, toasted pecans, and flaky sea salt with a tart-sweet super fresh Granny Smith apple.  Addicting…yes!   

I can hardly contain myself around these, and you can bet they’ll be happening a lot more often.  My love of caramel continues…caramel apple style. 🙂

More candy recipes you’ll love:

Homemade peanut butter cups

How to make marshmallows

Rocky road candy

Salted caramel chocolate truffles

Simple Salted Caramels Recipe with Video by Inspired Taste

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Yield: 4 caramel apples

Salted Turtle Caramel Apples

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Salted Turtle Caramel Apples are homemade caramel apples drizzled with melted chocolate, toasted pecans and flaky sea salt!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 Granny Smith apples (mine were small-medium sized)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed (I used light)
• 1/2 cup corn syrup (I used light)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" cubes
• 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
• 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 4 ounces chocolate chips, melted
• 1/4 cup toasted, coarsely chopped pecans
• flaky sea salt, for garnish
• (4) popsicle sticks or branches

Instructions

1. Wash the apples and dry thoroughly. Place on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment, and press the popsicle sticks firmly down into the apple through the stem. Fill a heat proof bowl with some ice water for an ice bath and set aside.
2. Place the cream, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, bourbon, and sea salt in a saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer. Heat over medium to medium-high heat, stirring just until all the ingredients are combined. Heat until the temperature reaches 240 degrees, or softball stage. Remove the pan from heat and place in the ice bath, stirring until combined for about 1 minute. Remove from the ice bath, and begin dipping the apples in the caramel. When removing the apples, let the excess caramel drip off for a few seconds, then place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining apples. If the caramel begins to harden, simply heat for a minute or so until it softens. Reserve remaining caramel for caramel candies or dip. Place the apples in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes until set, then remove.
3. Melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl set in a pan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. Place the warm chocolate in a zip top bag and snip off just a bit of one corner. Drizzle the chocolate over the apples, then sprinkle with the pecans and sea salt. Let stand at room temperature or in the refrigerator until set. Store leftover apples in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Notes

• Total time above includes setting time for the caramel and chocolate.
• I used the tree branches for my photos alone and did not use them for dipping as there were too many bark particles to deal with even after cleaning the branches. If you'd like to use the branches, just plan to dip the apples with popsicle sticks first.
• For an extra dark caramel, you can use dark corn syrup and dark brown sugar.
• Apples can be made one day in advance and stored in the refrigerator before serving. Bear in mind that the chocolate will gray over time as it is not tempered.
• Recipe very loosely adapted from Chow.com.

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