Easy Kid's Fun With Chocolate Dipped Apples

Chocolate dipped apples are a fun and easy make at home treat for any time of year, but they're especially popular at Halloween.

Toffee apples may be a more traditional Irish Halloween treat, but chocolate dipped apples are even simpler to make, and a great way to entertain and involve kids with a simple, yet delicious activity.

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Easy Apple Treat for Halloween

This is one of my favorite Halloween recipes to make with children, since there's no need for messy candy thermometers and watching temperatures to get the perfect sticky toffee consistency required for toffee apples.

And in 2020, make at home, easy fun is all important for a safe and healthy Halloween.

Enjoy this inspirational, Halloween, how-to post for children, to help stir a little creativity this year.

Simply melt some chocolate, coat the apples and dip into your favorite decorative and tasty toppings. These apples really are that easy. They hardly deserve the title recipe. As my granny would say, "sure that's so simple, it's hardly a recipe, at all, at all."

Whether or not you deem this to be a real recipe, it's still a fun family activity. Get creative and let your imagination loose as you choose your flavor and topping combinations for your own personal chocolate apples. Here's a quick guide to help you plan.

Suggestions for Topping Combinations

This blog post photo shoot features milk chocolate dipped apples decorated with crushed peanuts and multicolored button shaped candies, such as M and M's or Smarties.

But always remember, the topping choices are all yours.

First, pick the type and color of chocolate that tickles your fancy. Here are some ideas.

• dark chocolate
• milk chocolate
• white chocolate
• drizzled and swirled dark and white chocolate combos
• colored chocolate melts
• orange infused chocolate

Once you've coated your apple in chocolate the fun truly begins. Dipping the hot melted and sticky chocolate in crushed toppings is ever so satisfying.

Here are some ideas for creative toppings. You can choose from any of these dry toppings.

• crushed peanuts
• chocolate candy
• desiccated coconut
• crushed macadamia nuts with white chocolate
• crushed cashew nuts
• crushed pistachios
• crushed almonds with dark or milk chocolate
• jelly tots or dolly mixtures (Irish candies)
• bacon bits combined with dark chocolate coating
• mini marshmallows
• decorative sprinkles or hundreds and thousands
• stars and fireworks style sprinkles
• orange and brown colored sprinkles
• crushed oreos
• crushed pecans

Ingredients for Chocolate Candy Apples

Here's my recipe and tutorial for these delicious apples. Just below you'll find a quick list of ingredients, but you'll find exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.

• Apples  
• Lollipop sticks or wooden craft sticks  
• Melting chocolate discs or chocolate chips
• Chopped Peanuts and/or M&M’S  

You can use any variety of apple you like. I chose a Granny Smith apple, since I love green treats at Halloween and crisp apples.

Best apples for this recipe is totally up to you. Other great chosices are gala, honeycrisp, or fuji.

Honeycrisps may be my personal favorite. I love how they add a little red and green coloring.

This recipe uses whole apples dipped in chocolate and toppings, not apple slices.

You can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate. The choice is yours.

Directions for Chocolate and Candy Apple Treats

Here you'll find step-by-step photographic instructions. There's a recipe card at the bottom of the post which you can print.

Prepare the apples

First the apples need to be secured on a stick for easy eating. Wooden craft sticks or lollipop sticks work great.

Remove the wooden twig out of the stem end of each apple. Push the lolly stick well down through the core of the apples from the stem end.

Make sure the apples won't wobble and fall off the popsicle stick while being held upright.

Prepare the toppings

Chop the peanuts to the consistency and size desired, and place them in a bowl.

Place the M and M's or whichever topping you have chosen, into another bowl.

Melt the chocolate and dip

Melt the chocolate in a heat-safe bowl over a saucepan half filled with hot water and simmering over a medium high burner.

Carefully transfer the melted chocolate to a shallow bowl, being careful not to burn your finger tips. Children need assistance or supervision with this step to keep them safe.

Take the apples, one at a time, and dip them into the bowl of chocolate.

Turn each apple in the chocolate to completely coat the bottom half of the apple surface in melted chocolate.

Try to create a sharp un-smudged line of chocolate in the middle of the apple.

The contrast between the brown of the chocolate and the rich green apple skin is best appreciated when the chocolate coating is even.

Let the excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.

Next, the real fun begins.

Toppings for chocolate apples

It's time to decorate the apples with the toppings. Place your choices into wide flat bowls for your toppings bar.

While the chocolate is still warm and slightly melted, dip the apples in to the topping bowls.

Gently move them around in the bowls to get an even decorative coating.

Place the dipped apples on a sheet of waxed paper or a cool surface to set.

A few of our favorites are chocolate candies and crushed peanuts.

If you wish you could drizzle some more chocolate across the top half of the apples. However, I find thin streaks of chocolate tend to break off.

Cool and set the chocolate before serving

Allow the apples to set at room temperature before serving. You can stand them on a baking tray or pan lined with parchment paper as they set.

And remember, stick to chocolate candy if anyone for whom you're making these treats has an allergy to nuts.

Recipe Card for Chocolate Dipped Apples for Halloween

Here's the printable recipe, if you'd like to add this activity to your kitchen files.

To store these apples, place them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They'll stay good for 3-4 days.

These cute apples make perfect gifts. Simply wrap them in gift cellophane and add a cute message.

I hope you have fun with this recipe. This is a light dessert and easy snack for October when we all celebrate Halloween.

May this year's Halloween festivities be safe, be full of fun, and spark your imagination and creativity.

Happy apple dipping!

Here are some more recipes and ramblings you might enjoy...

The Irish History of the Jack O' Lantern

Colcannon - An Irish Halloween Tradition

Halloween - The Irish Connection