What has two eyes and is covered in caramel? A Halloween candy apple! To celebrate our favorite spooky season, Cape May Cares Activities Director, Barbara Rosenberg, organized some Halloween crafts.

There was no shortage of things for our CMHA kids to do, from munching on some fresh, yummy apples to using their creativity to make caramel apples out of felt.

A Quick History of the Caramel Apple

Do you know where caramel apples come from? Not to be confused with a candy apple, despite sharing lots of delicious sugary qualities! The candy apple originated in Newark, New Jersey in 1908. It is said that a small candy shop owner, William W. Kolb first experimented with red cinnamon candy and apple as a Christmas window display, rather than an edible snack. When a passerby thought the display looked good enough to eat, he bought one and it became an instant hit! The candy apple was soon a staple of the shop, as well as at circuses, the Jersey shore, and, later, the rest of the a nation. Around the 1970s, this trend slowly started to fade out.

Our decadent caramel apple, on the other hand, wasn’t created until much later in the 1950s. Kraft Foods followed a similar path, playing around with different sweet treats for the holidays. Employee Dan Walker was experimenting with recipes from leftover caramel from Halloween sales. After melting the caramels and adding apples, it’s safe to say the rest is history. All we can say is this – thank you, Dan!

Sharing Smiles

After making Halloween crafts, snacking, and leaving with a goodie bag, it was a day of smiles all around for our CMHA kids! As always, we want to say a massive thank you to our Activities Director, Barbara, for helping make these events such a success.

We couldn’t do any of this without the help of our amazing staff and community, so thank YOU!

Want to join in? Contact us, or help us set up a better future for our community members by donating. These smiles are always worth it!