Wash apples (use hot water to get rid of wax) and push a stick in each. Boil water, sugar, and cream of tartar hard for 15 minutes.

This recipe confuses me a bit, so I will have to try it out and come back here to report. Surely you don’t boil the apples and sticks in the ingredients? Maybe you just dip the apples in the boiled mix and leave it on a tray to set?