The hard crack of the candy coating comes from cooking the sugar until the candy reaches the precise hard crack stage in the candy apple recipe- 305 degrees. The temperature of your candy might quickly reach 305° and continue climbing, even up to 310° Do not pull the candy off of the heat early – even at 295°, your coating may not have the desired finish. A sticky or chewy texture comes from candy that is not heated to a high enough temperature to remove all of the water from the candy.