Keeping in tradition with my husbands and Best Friend’s Celtic family backgrounds, I decided to make use of some wonderful apples to make my recipe for “The Apples of Samhain” The recipe is simple and easy to make these fun and delicious Halloween treats. Tricia and I had a blast making a mess in the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning, it was well worth it!

In the history of Celtic cultures you will find apples to be very much of a Halloween tradition. Samhain marked the end of the final harvest of the summer, and all apples had to have been picked by the time the day’s feasting began. It was believed that on Samhain, the puca or Irish evil fairies would spat on any unharvested apples in order to make them undesirable to eat.

It has been said, Celtic folks would look to the future at Samhain and would claim to see ‘clues’ to the year ahead. Even peeling an apple could provide a clue to the name of a future wife or husband; if the peel was allowed to drop to the floor as it was peeled, it would form the initial letter of the lucky spouse.

Apples were also featured in the ‘ducking for apples’ game where the object is to retrieve an apple from a barrel or large bowl of water without using hands or feet. There was nothing particularly symbolic Halloween games such as these. They were just considered to be fun games in which any age group could participate in.

Below you will find an amazingly delicious, fun and simple recipe to make your own “Apples of Samhain” with step by step easy to follow instructions.

The Apples of Samhain

• 4 dark red apples
• 4 Gala apples
• 8 decorative sticks or decorated popsicle sticks
• 2 and 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1 – 6 ounce bag of Red Hot candies
• 1 pinch of kosher salt
• Black gel food coloring

Directions
Wash and dry dark red and Gala apples, completely remove the stems from the apples.

Insert decorative sticks or Popsicle sticks into al 8 apples.

Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet; spray with light cooking spray (prevents sticking) and set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine the 2 and 1/4 cups of sugar, 1 cup of water, 2/3s cup of corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, once dissolved add bag of red-hot candies. Slowly bring to a low boil stirring frequently to break down candies. Once Red Hot candies have dissolved cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 290° ( which is a soft-crack stage).

Remove from the heat, you will notice your candy is a light red color at this time, red food color is not necessary to add. Dip 1 Gala apple at a time, working quickly, slightly turning and evenly coating each one, place on wax paper, continue for all 4 Gala apples.

Stir black food coloring into the remaining hot candy dip each of the dark apples one by one and line up on wax covered cookie sheet.
Working quickly, dip apples into hot sugar mixtures to completely coat. Place on prepared baking sheet; let stand until set.

Yield: 8 servings.

© Heidy L. McCallum and The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch, 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material or photos without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Heidy L. McCallum and The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. You may not copy and paste recipes to share on Social Platforms.

Filed under: Fall Menu, Halloween, Holiday Menu Tagged: Food coloring, Halloween, Happy Halloween, Heidy McCallum, Kosher salt, Light Corn Syrup, Red Hot Candies, Samhain, Sugar, The Apples of Samhain, The McCallum's Shamrock Patch

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