It’s been a long time since I thought about Caramel Apples and Popcorn balls.
My aunt bought a candy kit that included the caramel and sticks. She melted the caramel in a double boiler and dipped the apples. Cool on wax paper. I enjoyed these almost every time I visited her home.
Popcorn balls were served at kids parties. They’re easy to make. A bit messy and sticky. We made them with peanut butter and Karo Syrup.
I made Caramel Apples a couple times for my kids. They weren’t very impressed. Didn’t do it again.
I didn’t like either as a child (only tried them once or twice each), so don’t make them now. I only ever saw them at Halloween, and fears means parents don’t want home-made treats for their kids, anyway. Can’t be sure what’s in them. Even when I was kid, my mom only allowed home-made stuff from houses where she knew people. I hear more about trick-or-trunk and that sort of stuff now, and don’t even know how common trick-or-treating is anymore (no kids, myself), making that sort of non-candy-sweet less popular. And kids can and do get sweets all year round now (and did when I was kid). Don’t know if there’s anyway to track popularity of caramel apples over time.
BTW, when you were kid, did you make the caramel apples with aunt, or just eat them after you made them? I just recall how much I liked decorating Christmas cookies and Easter eggs as a kid, but I didn’t eat Easter eggs and wasn’t that fond of Christmas cookies, either.
I sometimes see prepared caramel apples at the grocery store (on a seasonal basis), so I assume someone still likes them, but maybe not enough to make them. I liked them as a kid, and yes, I ate the apple as well–the best were nice and crisp, with a peel very slightly cooked by the caramel. I would probably still like them, but I don’t make them, and I don’t trust the quality of the apples in pre-made ones.
I never liked popcorn balls, mostly because I found them awkward to eat. I would prefer smaller pieces of caramel popcorn. I occasionally make popcorn clusters drizzled with cinnamon candy around holidays.
By strange coincidence the last place I saw candy apples for sale was at a candy store on Disney Property called the Candy Cauldron which featured a large statute of the Evil Queen from Snow White disguised as the old lady holding an apple.
Back in the days before homemade treats were branded injurious and evil, my parents would make an enormous batch of popcorn balls for trick or treaters. They were a huge hit and as the years passed some of their original trick or treaters came back with their own kids to get some. Then when homemade treats became suspect, my folks would still make a small batch for “on demand” families who had come to them for years.
I liked the popcorn balls, but they were hard work and really my parents thing, not mine. I haven’t made one since my parents passed and that makes me a little sad.
Bring on the caramel apples! I don’t make them, bUT I do buy the yummy ones they make at the farm store deli counter.
My mom would make caramel apples for us kids once every fall. We loved them. I remember making them a few times for my kids but UGH! the cleanup was horrible. Then they came out with Wrapples. A round sheet of soft caramel that you would wrap around the apple. My kids loved them too. I think when caramel apple dip came out, making real caramel apples kind of faded away. I usually buy a tub once a year. So good. My son really loved regular caramel apples. The grocery stores around here always sell them ready-made every fall. So I would buy him a couple every week until they were gone for the season. We have a candy store here that makes them year-round but they’re pretty expensive. They have plain caramel and also caramel with curshed cookies, peanuts, M&M’s, and a variety of other toppings. QVC also sells fancy and expensive caramel apples every fall.
An apple covered in caramel, chocolate, nuts, etc. In the end it weighs 3 lbs. It has no stick (so as not to break the apple skin and allow germs to infiltrate) and is meant to be sliced and shared, like a cake.
If there’s a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory store near you, they make quite a selection of caramel apples - normal, M&M-covered, peanut-covered, and “cheesecake” (caramel, then some unidentified white candy, then graham crackers) come to mind.
I’ve made popcorn balls in the past but lost the recipe. Now I make stuff similar to this; I use a bit of baking soda in the popcorn mix rather than putting it in the oven.
