Celebrate Valentine’s Day with delicious candied apple hearts. This sweet treat is the perfect addition to your parties or a thoughtful gift for someone special. With a caramel-coated exterior and a crisp, tart interior, these treats will surely impress and delight!
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Valentine’s Candy Hearts
These candied hearts are a unique take on the iconic, beloved Valentine’s candy. They combine the traditional candy apple with the popular candy hearts commonly found in February.
The difference is instead of pure candy, this treat features Granny Smith apples dipped in a homemade red caramel coating and finished off with festive Valentine’s sprinkles. The result? A sweet and tangy treat perfect to give as a gift or take to a Valentine’s party!
These apples definitely lend themselves to creativity and that’s part of what makes them so fun. Use other types of apples or let the kids choose their sprinkles or even decorate them completely differently.
This recipe was inspired by my Scary Good Black Poison Candy Apples. I paired it with sliced apples placed together to form hearts found online. Finally, I threw on sprinkles to finish off the “candy hearts” look!
Ingredients Needed
The good news is a lot of the ingredients you will need are likely already in your pantry.
- Granny Smith apples
- white granulated sugar
- light corn syrup
- water
- Valentine’s sprinkles
- Red food coloring
- lemon or lime juice
Note: Always check the recipe card for a full list of ingredients, amounts, and steps.
How to Make Candied Apple Hearts
Let’s start making your own hearts for gifts or Valentine’s Day parties!
- Prepare the apples. Cut the Granny Smith apples into 8 pieces each (for a total of 24).
- Fill a bowl with water and lemon or lime juice.
- Cut each slice slightly in a diagonal direction to remove the seeds and create a “half-heart” shape.
- Place each apple slice into the water after cutting.
- Once all apples have been cut, remove them from the water bath, pat dry, and lay them on a 9 x 11 baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Stick a toothpick in each apple slice and place the slices that match next to each other to create a heart shape. Place in the freezer for 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Make the candy coating. AFTER the apple slices have been in the freezer for 1 hour 30 minutes, mix the corn syrup, sugar, and water together in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir the mixture constantly until boiling and use a candy thermometer to heat the caramel up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Turn off the heat once it has reached 300 degrees.
- Allow the bubbles to settle first. Then, add the red food coloring and mix well.
- Make the apple hearts. Take the apples out of the freezer. Prepare to work fast. The caramel in the saucepan will cool quickly as will the caramel coating on the apple slices after dipping.
- Take an apple slice and coat with the red caramel letting the excess drip off.
- Add the sprinkles on top immediately after dipping and hold for about 5 seconds before laying on the parchment paper.
- Repeat with the second slice of the apple heart, adding the sprinkles quickly. This time, take the previously hardened apple slice and stick it to the apple slice just dipped into the caramel.
- Repeat these steps with the remaining apple slices.
- Remove the toothpicks once the apples have hardened (they will slip out easily).
- Enjoy sweet and tangy Valentine’s candied apple hearts!
Frequently Asked Questions – Candied Apple Hearts
No. Feel free to use whatever kind of apples you prefer. It is easier to make the hearts if the apples are larger.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If giving as gifts, they can be securely wrapped in cellophane and refrigerated.
Yes. These are red for Valentine’s Day but you can use any other color you want.
Want to Change it Up?
If you want to change these up, use another variety of apples such as Red Delicious, Honeycrisp, or Gala. Use a different shade of food coloring to change the color. Pink would be a good option but make them whatever color you wish. If you’re giving these hearts as a gift, choosing the recipient’s favorite color would be a nice touch!
More Candy Apple Recipes
Valentine’s Day Candied Apple Hearts
Ingredients
- 3 Granny Smith apples
- 1 ½ cups white granulated sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ⅓ cup water
- 3 drops red food coloring
- Valentine’s sprinkles
- water + lemon or lime juice to set apples in
Instructions
For the Apples
- Slice the Granny Smith apples into 8 pieces.3 Granny Smith apples
- Prepare a bowl filled with water and some lemon or lime juice.water + lemon or lime juice
- Cut each slice slightly in a diagonal direction to remove the seeds and create what looks most like a half heart.
- Place each apple slice into the water after cutting. Repeat this process with the other two apples.
- Remove all apple slices (after cutting all apples) from the water bath and lay them on a parchment-covered 9 x 11 baking sheet. Pat dry to remove all the moisture.
- Stick a toothpick in each apple slice and place the slices that match next to each other to create a heart shape.
- Place in the freezer for 1 hour 30 minutes.
For the Candy Coating
- Make the caramel for the apples AFTER the hour and a half has passed.
- Mix the corn syrup, sugar, and water together in a medium saucepan over medium heat.1 ½ cups white granulated sugar, ½ cup light corn syrup, ⅓ cup water
- Stir the mixture constantly until boiling and use a candy thermometer to heat the caramel up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Turn off the heat once it has reached 300 degrees.
- Allow the bubbles to settle first. Then, add the red food color and mix well.3 drops red food coloring
For the Apple Hearts
- Take the apples out of the freezer.
- Prepare to work fast. The caramel in the saucepan will cool quickly as will the caramel coating on the apple slices after dipping.
- Take an apple slice and coat with the red caramel letting the excess drip off.
- Add the sprinkles on top immediately after dipping and hold for about 5 seconds before laying on the parchment paper.
- Repeat with the second slice of the apple heart, adding the sprinkles quickly. This time, take the previously hardened apple slice and stick it to the apple slice just dipped into the caramel.
- Repeat these steps with the remaining apple slices.
- Remove the toothpicks once the apples have hardened (they will slip out easily).
- Enjoy sweet and tangy Valentine’s candied apple hearts!
Notes
- The lemon/lime bath inhibits browning of the apples.
- If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can tell the caramel is done when it leaves a thick coating on a spoon.
Nutrition
Nutritional information accuracy not guaranteed.
