Grandma's Halloween Story about Candy Apples


Grandma had two big apple trees in her backyard. One was a Baldwin apple tree and the other was a Macintosh. With no spraying, fertilizer or fretting, Grandma’s apple trees would supply not only her family, but half the neighborhood with wonderful crisp, worm-free apples every autumn.

One year, the trees had a super yield. The branches hung low to the ground because of the weight of so many apples; perfect, round, red and juicy. Grandpa picked them daily and put the bushels of apples in the garage to keep them cool.

It was a few days before Halloween when Grandma decided she had to do something with all these apples. She couldn’t let them spoil. So the idea came to her to make Red Candy Apples and hand them out to the children who’d come to her door trick-or-treating. This was not going to be an easy task, but Grandma loved children and felt it would be worth her labor.

She bought 220 Popsicle sticks from the hardware store and created batch after batch of the red syrup in which each apple would be hand dipped.

Grandma’s Original Recipe for Red Candy Syrup

1 cup water
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1/4 cup red hot candies
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring


Grandpa and Grandma worked tirelessly the 48 hours before Halloween. Grandpa even had to drive to other towns to find more red hot candies as they’d bought up every bag of candy in their own town.

Apple after apple was dipped into the hot red syrup, turned upside down to dry and then hand wrapped in cellophane and tied with twine. It took hours and hours of work, long into the evening and even after Grandpa's bedtime, but finally they were done.

They were a sight to behold; 205 shiny, red, candy apples that she and Grandpa lovingly made for the neighborhood children or friends and family who might stop by on Halloween.

Halloween night, she was mighty proud to give out such beautiful treats to the first children who came to the door. Happy faces accepted the candy apples with glee and the word spread throughout the neighborhood that at Grandma’s house candy apples were being passed out.

Soon, the lines of children at the door grew longer and longer and Grandma beamed with happiness that the children appreciated all her hard work and were even coming back a second time in the hope of getting another candy apple.

Finally it was 9 PM and all the candy apples had been given out. Bone-weary, Grandma turned off the porch light and went to bed with a heart full of satisfaction and happiness. This had been her best Halloween ever; she had made so many children happy and that warmed her heart.

In the morning, she woke up still filled with happiness from the night before, shuffled off into the kitchen to make the coffee, and peering into her back yard, said aloud, “Damn those little bastards, “They cut my G. D. clothesline!”

No more candy apple making for Grandma after that.


Baldwin Apple