Slice up some freshly picked apples and dunk them into this Healthier Caramel Apple Dip. Make it in under 10 minutes for a quick, delicious after school snack. Or make and adult version by adding some bourbon. Enjoy with any kind of fruit, cracker or simply grab a spoon and dig right in!
As a kid one of my favorite treats during the autumn season was Affy Tapple’s aka Caramel Apples. I would really like to thank whoever first paired caramel and apples together. It’s like Peanut Butter and Chocolate–they’re just perfection together!
Serious question: Have you checked the ingredients of an Affy Tapple? Sure you can argue that the apple is healthy, but let me just give a quick run down of some of the other ingredients.
- Carrageenan
- Palm Oil
- Natural and Artificial Flavors
- Mono and Diglycerides
Do you know what those ingredients are? Can you even pronounce them? That’s a good indication that it’s best to just avoid them all together.
So let’s find out what ingredients are used to make this *Healthier* Caramel Apple Dip.
Ingredients to make Healthier Caramel Apple Dip
- Water
- Coconut Sugar OR brown cane sugar
- Butter
- Raw or Heavy Cream
- Vanilla
- Pinch of Unrefined Salt
- Bourbon (optional)
I chose these ingredients because they are simple and we have them on hand all the time. I love to bake with coconut sugar. It’s unrefined and a great sugar alternative from the refined white and brown sugars. You could use packed brown cane sugar in place of coconut sugar if you prefer. (more info on my sugar preference here)
Butter and cream are great sources of healthy fats. You can either use raw cream (Why Raw Dairy?) or store bought organic heavy cream. Do not fear good quality fats, especially if they are sourced from grass grazed organic cows. More info on fats here.
How to Make Healthier Caramel Apple Dip
In a medium sauce pan over low heat add water and sugar. Whisk sugar into water until sugar dissolves.
Add butter and continue to whisk until butter is melted. Add heavy cream and a pinch of salt. Whisk until everything is incorporated.
Bring mixture to a gentle boil over low heat. Once boiling, stir continuously for 10 minutes. The mixture will cook down and slowly thicken.
After 10 minutes, turn off heat and add vanilla. Whisk well as it bubbles. Add optional bourbon if you desire.
Cool before eating.
It will thicken in the fridge but you can re-heat on the stove to loosen up the caramel.
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Let’s make some Healthier Caramel Apple Dip
*Healthier* Caramel Apple Dip
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Water
- 2/3 cup Coconut Sugar OR 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 1/2 cup Raw or Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 Tbsp Bourbon (optional)
Instructions
- To a medium sauce pan, add water and sugar over low heat. Whisk sugar into water until sugar is dissolved (about 2 minutes).
- Add butter and continue to whisk until butter is melted.
- Add cream and a pinch of salt, whisk all together.
- Bring mixture to a gentle boil over low heat. Once boiling, stir continuously for 10 minutes. The mixture will cook down and slowly thicken turning into caramel.
- After 10 minutes turn off heat and add vanilla. (Caramel will bubble up) Also add in optional bourbon now if using.
- Slightly cool caramel before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Caramel will save in fridge for one week. It thickens when cold. Go ahead and add it to a small sauce pan over low heat to loosen up caramel again.
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Could you keep this warm in a slow cooker for dipping?
Oooo. I’ve not tried this myself, bu you probably could, as long as it’s a really low warm setting because it may separate after being warmed too long. If you try, I’d love to know how it goes!