14 Unique Toppings Your Candy Apples Need

Crunchy, sweet, and juicy all at the same time, candy apples are fun treats. They were first created in Newark, New Jersey, in 1908 when a candy maker named Willian Kolb melted cinnamon candies and dipped apples in the sticky syrup. The candy-coated apples were originally intended to be Christmas decorations, but customers wanted to try the brilliantly hued, glossy fruit. Today, candy apples are a mainstay at summer fairs and popular fall treats. They're also a fun dessert you can make at home with just a few ingredients.

Candy apples are typically dipped in liquid candy, sugar syrup, or caramel and occasionally topped with sprinkles or nuts. However, you don't have to stick to the ordinary. If you want to make superior candy apples, consider getting creative with your toppings. You can raid your pantry for tasty toppings that will add layers of flavor and texture to your candy apples or seek out interesting ingredients that will turn your run-of-the-mill candy apples into gourmet creations. Need some inspiration? These are some unique toppings that will take your candy apples from "eh" to extraordinary.

Give your candy apples the Midas touch with shimmery edible gold. The product is exactly what it sounds like — real gold that's pounded into thin sheets or flakes. It's non-toxic and virtually flavorless, so your candy apples will taste pretty much the same as they normally would. Just dip your candy apples in your preferred coating, then use tweezers to apply the delicate gold leaf to the candy apple. You probably don't want to go overboard with the gold leaf, as it can be pretty pricey. A few pieces should do the trick to add a bit of sparkle and luxury to your candy apples.

If you don't want to splash out on gold leaf, there are several ways to get a similar effect. You can opt for gold-colored food coloring spray for your candy apples. In that case, you may want to use a white candy coating on your apples so the gold spray doesn't get drowned out by darker colors. You can also try gold-colored cake paint or gold cake dust that you can paint onto the apples with a paintbrush. You can coat the entire apple with the gold pigment or create fun designs and lettering.

If you want to add an ethereal look to your candy apples, cotton candy is the perfect addition. Fluffy and colorful, the cotton candy creates a cloud-like effect around the apple. It also adds a melt-in-your-mouth texture and additional sweetness. If you can find store-bought cotton candy, that will save you a lot of hassle. Otherwise, you may want to invest in a cotton candy machine that's designed for home use. For example, the Nostalgia Cotton Candy Machine is small enough to sit on a countertop and relatively easy to use. All you need to do is turn it on, add your sugar powder, and collect the floss on sticks.

The thing to remember about cotton candy is that it breaks down when it encounters moisture. Therefore, you'll want to make sure that your candy coating has cooled and hardened before adding the cotton candy to the candy apples. In addition, you may want to wait until you're ready to serve the candy apples before adding the cotton candy. If you add it too far in advance, moisture from the air can dissolve the cotton candy into a sticky mess.

Put a Mexican twist on your candy apples with some chamoy and Tajín. Chamoy is a tangy sauce made with pickled fruits, chilies, and lime juice. It's often drizzled on fresh fruit and sometimes made into candies. Tajín is a popular Mexican seasoning made with dried chiles, dehydrated lime zest, and salt. It can also be sprinkled on fresh fruit, added to mixed nuts for a spicy kick, or used to rim cocktail glasses.

Chamoy and Tajín work beautifully with candy apples because they provide spicy, salty, and sour flavors that contrast beautifully with the sweetness of the candy coating and the tartness of the apple. They work equally as well with caramel apples. They're pretty easy to apply as well. All you need to do is roll the candy apple in chamoy and then dust it with Tajín. Alternatively, you can pour the Tajín into a bowl and dunk the chamoy-coated candy apple in the spicy seasoning. If you're worried about the flavors being too potent, you can balance the spiciness and sourness with some sugar.

Want to get ultra-creative with your candy apples? Fondant is a secret ingredient that can transform them into beautiful works of art. If you've ever watched "The Great British Bake Off" or similar baking shows, you may be familiar with fondant. It's basically a thick, pliable icing that's rolled out and cut into shapes. It's often used to decorate baked goods like cakes and cupcakes, but it can also be used on any sweet treat with a surface it can adhere to. 

The great thing about fondant is that you can color it any hue you like and cut it into a wide variety of shapes. You can decorate your candy apples with seasonal motifs like leaves and pumpkins for fall or reindeer, snowflakes, and sleighs for Christmas. Perhaps you want to give your candy apples fun fondant faces or create letters and label your candy apples with people's names. The sky's the limit. Once you've cut out your fondant shapes, apply a small amount of edible adhesive like melted chocolate or candy coating to stick it to the candy apple.

Amp up the nutritional content of your candy apples and give them some interesting textures with colorful dried fruits. You can go with whole slices of freeze-dried fruits like bananas, oranges, and kiwis, or chop up dried fruits like cherries, blueberries, and cranberries to make a chunky topping for your candy apples. The key is to apply the dried fruits when the candy apple coating is still slightly tacky so that the fruits stick to the surface of the candy apple.

For an interesting dried fruit twist, consider wrapping your apples in Fruit Roll-Ups before dipping them in a clear candy coating. The colors will shine through the glossy coating and give the apples a slight chewiness when you bite into them, as well as some tangy fruit flavors. You can also upgrade your dried fruit with a sour candy twist by adding citric acid. All you need to do is mix citric acid with some sugar, dip your dried fruit in simple syrup, then roll the fruit in the powder mix. Apply the sour dried fruit to your candy apples to give them some extra tartness.

Peanuts are a common candy apple topper and it's easy to see why. The saltiness of the peanuts contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the candy coating and the acidity of the apple. In addition, the nuts give some additional crunch and the fats in the nuts create a nice mouthfeel. Other nuts can also stand in for peanuts. For example, you could use cashews, walnuts, or pistachios. And nuts aren't the only salty snacks that work well with candy apples.

For a unique sweet and salty combo, consider using potato chips as a topping for your candy apples. Crush up the chips in a bowl or on a plate and roll or dip your freshly coated candy apple into the mix. You can do the same with popcorn, crushed pretzels, or trail mix. Don't have any salty snacks on hand? A sprinkle of salt can be just as effective. It might not give you the same level of crunch, but a dusting of salt can actually enhance the sweetness of foods like the candy coating or caramel on your candy apple.

Gummy candies are fun to eat on their own, but they also make great decorations for other sweet treats like candy apples. Plus, with so many styles to choose from, you can get artsy with your application. You can go classic with colorful gummy bears, create cool patterns or scenes with gummy worms, or use gummy eyeballs to give your candy apples an all-seeing touch. Gummy sharks can add bright pops of color, while Sour Patch Kids will bring some tartness to the table.

The tricky part about using gummy candies is getting them to stick to the candy apple. The easiest thing to do is apply the candies while the candy apple coating or caramel is just starting to harden and get tacky. You can also use a bit of melted chocolate or icing on the back of the gummy candy to get it to stay in place on the apple. Some people also dip their candy apples in chocolate and then add the gummy candies, which adds creaminess to the candy apple and another level of sweetness.

Candy apples are often associated with fall, so why not give yours some autumn flavors? Pumpkin spice is a comforting mix of warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger, and allspice. It was created as a spice blend for pumpkin pie, but now you can find it in a slew of seasonal foods and drinks like pumpkin spiced lattes, pumpkin cheesecake, and pumpkin beers. It's also a great addition to caramel apples because the spices complement the richness of the caramel and the sweetness of the fruit.

There are several ways you can incorporate pumpkin spice into your caramel apples. You can whisk the spice mix directly into the caramel coating so that it's evenly distributed throughout. That way you get pumpkin spice in each bite. You can also dust the newly coated caramel apples with the pumpkin spice so that the mix adheres to the surface. Another option is to make unconventional caramel apples with sliced apples that you can dip in caramel and dunk in pumpkin spice mix.

Fall isn't the only time of year that candy apples make an appearance. They're also a great winter holiday treat. If you're looking for a way to use the extra candy canes or peppermint candies that didn't make it onto your gingerbread house, consider using them as a topping for your candy apples. The red and white coloring looks great on vibrant red candy apples and the hard peppermint candy adds extra crunchiness to the coating. In addition, the minty flavor adds a nice touch of freshness to the sweet, juicy apple.

Peppermint candies work well with candy apple coating, but they're an absolute dream with caramel or chocolate-covered candy apples. The crunchy pops of mint provide a lovely contrast to the rich, creaminess of the chocolate and caramel. Candy canes crush easily, so they're a great option. However, you can also use any type of hard peppermint candy, chocolate mints, or peppermint patties. Dip your candy apples in the melted chocolate or caramel, then gently roll the apples in the crushed candies or press the mints onto the candy apple. For an artistic touch, drizzle more chocolate or caramel over the peppermint candy apples.

Not keen on making an extra shopping trip to find fun toppings for your candy apples? Your cereal cupboard could have everything you need to create a delicious crunchy coating. Colorful breakfast cereals will make your candy apples pop with vibrant colors, while non-sugary cereals can provide extra fiber and vitamins. Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, and Fruit Loops are popular choices. For some additional apple flavor, consider using Apple Jacks or Apple Cinnamon Cheerios.

There are two main ways you can apply the cereal to your candy apples. You can go the conventional route and pour the cereal into a bowl or onto a plate, then roll or dunk your freshly coated candy apples into the cereal. However, this can be slightly messy and may not give you the uniformity you want. If it's precision you're after, place the dipped candy apples on a parchment-lined baking tray and then apply the cereal by hand. This works well with larger pieces of cereal, as it will allow you to line up the pieces in the exact positions you want them.

Soft, fluffy, and sweet, marshmallows can add some much-needed textural contrast to the hard coating and crunch of candy apples. They're also very versatile. You can alternate white and colored marshmallows in fun patterns around the candy apples or cut larger marshmallows into shapes and press them onto the surface of your candy apples. You can also put a new spin on a classic campfire treat by combining marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate chips with a caramel coating to create s'mores caramel apples.

Another creative use of marshmallows is to melt them with some butter so that they turn into a runny liquid. Then you can dip your candy apples in the liquid marshmallow and use it as a coating in place of melted candies, sugar syrup, or caramel. The liquid can also add another sweet layer to the already-coated apples and act as a base for other toppings like peanuts, chocolate chips, or candies. Alternatively, you can melt the marshmallows in the microwave to make them soft and pliable and use them to create patterns such as drips that resemble icicles or abstract swirls. 

Edible glitter is a fun food product that can add some sparkle and shine to your candy apples. It's basically powdered food coloring with a sparkly twist and it comes in a wide range of colors and styles. Unlike luster dust or food coloring paint, you don't need to mix it with anything or use a paintbrush to apply it to your candy apples. You can simply sprinkle or spray it on while the candy apple coating or caramel is still wet or slightly sticky to create a sparkly surface.

It's important to note that not all glitters are made the same. You want to look for products that clearly state they are edible on the packaging. FDA-approved edible glitter is typically made from sugar, cornstarch, food coloring, and mica-based pigments. If the label states the product is simply "non-toxic," you may want to steer clear of it because it's probably meant to be decorative as opposed to 100% edible. Small amounts of non-toxic glitter probably won't make you sick, but it's not exactly safe to eat either, especially in large quantities.

Combine two sweet treats in one by topping your candy apples with crushed cookies. The cookies lend a crunchy, buttery quality to the candy apples and taste great with a variety of coatings including caramel, melted chocolate, and sugar syrup. Plus, you have so many options, from classics like chocolate chip cookies and Oreos to unconventional choices like snickerdoodles, shortbread, and gingersnaps. As with many of the other toppings on this list, you can simply put the crushed cookies on a plate or in a bowl and roll the coated apples in the mix while they're still sticky so that the cookie pieces adhere. 

If you're making candy apples for Halloween, for example, one popular cookie-coated version is "worms and dirt." It consists of apples dipped in caramel or melted chocolate and coated in crushed chocolate cookies to give a dirt-like appearance. The apples are then topped with gummy worms. Another popular recipe is cookies and cream candy apples. It involves coating the apples with melted white chocolate and rolling them in crushed chocolate cookies. Oreos are a good choice because they add an extra element of cream to the treats.

If you grew up in the late '70s or '80s, you may remember when Pop Rocks had their heyday. These hard candies are filled with pockets of carbon dioxide that cause the candy to crackle and pop when moisture dissolves the candy coating. You may also recall the myth that drinking a can of soda with Pop Rocks could cause your stomach to explode. The rumor was so persistent that Pop Rocks were discontinued in the mid-'80s. Thankfully, it was nothing more than a myth and the fizzing candy eventually made a comeback.

If you can find them, Pop Rocks are completely safe to eat and a fun way to jazz up sweet treats like candy apples. You can roll your coated candy apples in the colorful candies to add texture, visual appeal, and a surprising fizzing effect when you bite into the apple. If you can't find Pop Rocks at your local candy store, you may be able to get them online. For example, Amazon sells Pop Rocks Variety Packs featuring an array of flavors. You can also try your hand at making popping candy yourself with ingredients like sugar, citric acid, baking powder, honey, and food coloring.