As an Amazon Associate, KitchenWithMommy.com earns from qualifying purchases.
A proper toffee apple has a thin, glassy shell that cracks when you bite it, not a thick sticky coat that pulls your teeth out. The difference is temperature, and a sugar thermometer makes it easy.
First: the hot sugar is an adult job
Toffee for apples is cooked to about 150C (300F). Sugar at that temperature sticks to skin and keeps burning, and it is far more dangerous than boiling water. Children can wash and dry the apples and push in the sticks. Everything after that is for an adult, with children well away from the hob.
Keep a bowl of cold water next to the pan. If any toffee lands on skin, cool it under cold running water straight away.
Strip the wax, or the toffee slides off
Most shop apples are waxed, and toffee will not grip a waxy skin. Put the apples in a bowl, pour over just-boiled water for a few seconds, then scrub and dry them thoroughly. Any water left on the skin makes the toffee spit and slide, so dry them properly.
Small, crisp, slightly sharp apples work best: Granny Smith or Braeburn. Big apples need a lot of toffee and are hard for small hands to hold.
The hard-crack test
With a thermometer, you are aiming for 150C (300F). Without one, drip a little of the syrup into a glass of cold water. At the right point it sets at once into brittle threads that snap cleanly. If it bends or feels chewy, keep boiling.
Stop at the right moment. A few degrees too far and the sugar starts to taste burnt.
Eat them within a day
Toffee pulls moisture from the air and goes sticky, especially in a damp kitchen, so these are best eaten the day they are made. Pushing a stick into an apple also lets juice seep out where the apple meets the coating; our caramel apples page explains why that matters for keeping them at room temperature.
Not for little ones as they are
The American Academy of Pediatrics lists hard candy and raw apple pieces among the foods to avoid or modify for young children, because of the choking risk (AAP choking prevention). For small children, skip the toffee and offer thin apple slices instead.
