No town does Halloween like Salem, Massachusetts. The city of the 1692 witch trials spends all of October celebrating with its Haunted Happenings festival, and its streets fill with costumes, candlelit tours and the smell of hot caramel from the stalls.

Caramel apples are the fair food of a New England fall, and they are far better made at home, with a crisp local apple and a real caramel of butter, cream and brown sugar rather than the stiff commercial kind. They are a perfect project for the week before Halloween.

Visit Salem in October

Read our expert tips for Halloween in Salem before you go: book early, arrive on a weekday if you can, and take the ferry from Boston to avoid traffic. For more of the season, our fall weekend escapes from Boston round up the best nearby weekends.

Choose tart, crisp apples

Granny Smith is the classic, its sharpness balancing the sweet caramel. Honeycrisp is a good local alternative. Wash the apples in hot water and dry them well to remove the wax, or the caramel will slide off.

Ingredients

Makes 8 apples.

• 8 small tart apples, washed and thoroughly dried
• 8 sturdy wooden sticks
• 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) light corn syrup or golden syrup
• 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt
• 1 cup chopped toasted pecans, peanuts or melted dark chocolate, to coat (optional)

Method

1. Prepare the apples. Push a stick firmly into the stem end of each apple. Chill them for 30 minutes; cold apples help the caramel set. Line a baking sheet with buttered parchment.
2. Make the caramel. In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, syrup, butter and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then cook, stirring gently and often so it does not catch, until it reaches 240°F on a candy thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Cool slightly. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla and salt. Let the caramel cool for 5 to 10 minutes, until it thickens slightly.
4. Dip. Tilt the pan and dip each apple, turning to coat, then let the excess drip off. Roll the base in nuts if using.
5. Set. Stand the apples on the parchment and leave to set for at least 30 minutes. Drizzle with melted chocolate if you like.

How to serve it

Cut into wedges for easier eating. They are best the day they are made.

What to pour

Hot mulled cider, or for the adults, our Calvados Cider Sour.

Make a menu of it

Make a Halloween table with our apple cider doughnuts, the soul cakes and these apples. More Halloween ideas are At the Table.

Photo: photogmateo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0