I can't craft ANY type of golden apple on my minecraft server!

I tried making a golden apple on minecraft, but it's not working. At first I used gold nuggets and it didn't work. So I used gold ingots, and it still didn't work. Then I figured I'd see if I could make an enchanted golden apple, and THAT didn't work either! What's going on??? I really need the golden apple to convert zombie villagers..
Thanks!