Apples and caramel, a fall classic, but one that hasn’t been in my life for many years. I always enjoyed dipping apples slices in caramel growing up, even if it wasn’t remotely close to being real caramel. It’s pretty gross, but I think the first ingredient was high fructose corn syrup. I remember it being overly sweet, but as a kid, that was okay with me. It was always the fat-free kind too. Fat-free, HFCS and chemical-laden caramel dip … yum?
As for the caramel apples on sticks, I was never much of a fan. I always wanted to like it, but didn’t care for tart green apples as a kid, and caramel apples were always made with green apples. What’s up with that? I also remember them being difficult to eat. I might like a caramel apple now if it was made with this caramel (I like green apples now too) and maybe even rolled in some chopped nuts or coconut flakes.
Since I’ve made caramel from dates for different treat recipes, I figured it’d be easy enough to modify a bit and turn into a dip. I went slow and adjusted the the ingredients incrementally, taste-tasting each time (it gave me an extra excuse to keep taking tastes too). The taste and consistency came out perfectly (or at least I like to think so) and Jesse even oooed and ahhhed over it too. It’s salty, sweet, gooey and thick.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Medjool dates, pitted (heaping 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4-6 Tbsp water (I used 5 Tbsp)
- 3 Tbsp smooth unsweetened almond butter
- 3 Tbsp coconut cream concentrate (aka coconut butter)
- 1 Tbsp room temp grass-fed butter
Directions:
- Add dates to the food processor and blend until the dates are ground up (might turn into a ball – that’s okay). If your dates are drier, soak in boiling water for 10-20 minutes before blending in the food processor.
- Add two tablespoons of the water and all the remaining ingredients. Process until smooth.
- Add in two more tablespoons of water and blend again. Add up to two additional tablespoons of water until desired consistency is reached. It should be somewhat thick, but not too thick.
- Adjust flavor to your liking and serve with sliced apples or pears. It’d be delicious spread on banana slices too.
holy yum!!
Yes, holy yum is an accurate response! Wait until you taste it (if you make it)!
Sounds great! Nice fall recipe!
Thanks, Brandyn 😉
you know im gonna have to try this. 🙂
Hey … there cave lady. 😉 Do you have a good paleo-ish crust for an idea I have for a pumpkin pie?
I always make a crustless pumpkin pie, so I don’t have a go-to, but I did make the Food Lovers Kitchen’s crust before (from their Make it Paleo cookbook). The only thing I did differently was use honey instead of maple syrup. The crust was good, but I still prefer my pumpkin pie without crust. The filling is my favorite part anyway! I’ve also seen good looking crusts made from ground nuts (pecans would be good with pumpkin pie) and butter or coconut oil. Here’s the link to the crust from the Food Lovers Kitchen
http://beta.primal-palate.com/recipe/almond-flour-pie-crust/. It’d be good to add ground cinnamon and ginger to the pie crust too!
Thanks! 🙂
this looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it. Nice to meet a fellow SCD-er on here since I’m fairly new to it.
Thanks! It’s tasty, but a bit addictive. Pretty much any treat I make tends to be addictive though … can sometimes be a problem if you get my drift! Let me know if you ever have any questions about the SCD. I’ve been on it just over a year now. My best advice is to be patient with the process and go slow!
Going to try this for Halloween, just without the butter…..
Great! Yes, you can definitely make it without the butter. I added it for a little extra richness, but it’s not necessary.
WHAT!!! omg need this now!
Haha 😉
Where can I find coconut butter in Portland?
Whole Foods, New Seasons, Alberta Co-op, Food Front Co-op and even Safeway. You can also buy coconut cream concentrate, which comes in a little packet inside a green box. It’s the same thing (coconut manna is the same too). Just place the packet in some hot water until it’s soft enough to poor into a jar. Whole Foods, New Seasons and Food Front carry the little box of concentrate and it’s a lot cheaper than buying a big jar.