Easy 1968 Homemade Caramel Apples + Wrapples

Fall is in the air, and with it comes a craving for classic autumn treats. This week, we're reaching back to 1968 to bring you a timeless recipe for homemade caramel apples. It’s a taste of pure, sticky, sweet nostalgia that will transport you straight to crisp autumn days, crunchy leaves, and county fairs.

Unwrapping the History of the Caramel Apple

The caramel apple feels like an autumn tradition as old as the harvest itself, but its origins are surprisingly modern. The treat was invented in 1950 by Dan Walker, a sales representative for Kraft Foods, who turned a surplus of Halloween caramels into one of fall's most enduring confections.

From Leftover Candy to Halloween Icon

After Halloween that year, Walker found himself with an excess of Kraft caramels. Rather than let them go to waste, he began experimenting in his kitchen, melting down the candies and dipping various foods into the golden mixture. When he tried dipping a fresh apple, the combination of tart fruit and sweet caramel was an immediate hit with his family.

Walker recognized the commercial potential and brought his creation to Kraft executives. The company quickly embraced the concept and began printing the caramel apple recipe directly on its caramel packaging. This simple marketing strategy proved brilliant, giving home cooks an easy way to create the treat themselves.

The timing couldn't have been better. Post-war America was experiencing a boom in convenience foods and family-centered activities. The caramel apple fit perfectly into this cultural moment—it was simple to make, festive, and turned an ordinary apple into something special. Within a few years, the treat became synonymous with fall festivals, Halloween celebrations, and autumn gatherings.

Today, caramel apples remain a seasonal staple, proving that sometimes the best traditions start with someone simply making the most of what they have on hand.

Wrapples Made Caramel Apples Even Easier

The 1968 recipe calls for melting caramels in a double boiler, but in 1974, Wrapples made the process even simpler. Kraft Foods introduced a kit that revolutionized home caramel apple making for busy families. Instead of standing over the stove, stirring caramel, home cooks could simply peel the plastic off flat sheets of caramel, wrap them around fresh apples, insert a popsicle stick through the top, and warm them briefly in the oven.

Wrapples became a nostalgic part of Halloween traditions throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s, offering convenience without sacrificing the joy of making homemade treats with children gathered around the kitchen counter. The product created a harder caramel coating that was easier to work with than traditional melted caramel. However, many families still cherished the original method - the one that required a little more time, a little more attention, and the quiet pleasure of doing things from scratch.

I bet you remember the Wrapples jingle ...  "Thanks, Mom!" Here is the Wrapples TV commercial from 1977.

If you're wondering about the creepy clown aesthetic in this TV commercial, let me take you back to 1977. That year, Raggedy Ann was literally everywhere. When "Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure" hit theaters in April, it sparked a wave of nostalgia for those whimsical rag doll characters with their button eyes and yarn hair. But the film was really just riding a bigger wave sweeping through American homes: the handmade craft revival.

The 1970s were all about macramé plant hangers, tie-dye everything, and DIY projects that connected people to something more authentic and homespun. Raggedy Ann fit perfectly into that folk-inspired, nostalgic moment; she represented something handcrafted and old-fashioned in a world that was starting to feel a little too plastic.

The Halloween of 1977, I joined countless other kids across America dressed up in red yarn wigs and triangle noses, capturing a moment when something as simple as a rag doll could make you feel magical.