“The practice of coating fruit in sugar syrup dates to ancient times. Honey and sugar were used as preserving agents. Food historians generally agree that toffee apples (aka taffy apples, caramel candied apples, candy apples, lollipop apples) probably date to the late 19th century, although difficult to prove in print. Both toffee and caramel are traced to the early decades of the 18th century. Inexpensive toffee/caramels became available by the end of the 19th century. Culinary evidence confirms a variety of recipes, from hard colored sugar to soft chewy caramel coating.”
Learn more about the history of caramel apples, and just about every other food, at foodtimeline.org!!