Northwest Apple Candy (Aplets)

Photo from Liberty Orchards.

Aplets are a delicious Northwest candy that is made with gelatin, walnuts, and apples. Developed by two Armenian men, Armen Tertsgian and Mark Balaban, who bought an apple farm (called Liberty Orchards) in the small town of Cashmere in eastern Washington state, Aplet candies are considered a Northwest delicacy.

Times were tough in 1918 for most orchard growers, and Tertsagian and Balaban searched for new ways to make use of their surplus fruit. Apple dehydration seemed a logical first move, and coinciding with America's involvement in World War I, the orchard owners began providing apples for U.S. soldiers. After the war, they remembered the popular eastern candy they had loved as children called rahat locum or Turkish Delight. After much research and development on their kitchen stove, they perfected a delicious apple and walnut recipe that they called Aplets. In 1963, at the Seattle World's Fair, they introduced hundreds of thousands of people from outside the Northwest to this candy.

The following recipe is my version of this wonderful candy.

Northwest Apple Candy (Aplets)

1 cup grated (red or golden) Delicious apples
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons unflavored g elatin
5 tablespoons cold water
1/8 teaspoon rose culinary essence or 1 tablespoon rose flower water*
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
Powdered sugar

* Culinary rose essence can be found in Asian or Indian grocery and spice stores. If you are unable to find culinary essence or rose water, substitute 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.

Butter an 8-inch square pan. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine apples and sugar. Bring to a boil; boil 1 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn heat to low and simmer another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, combine gelatin and water; add to apple and sugar mixture, stirring constantly until dissolved. Add rose culinary essence and walnuts; stir until well blended. Pour into prepared pan; cool at least 2 hours but preferably overnight. With an oiled knife, cut into1-inch squares, then roll in powdered sugar. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Makes 64 candy squares.