“Caramel” Dipped Superfood Apple Treats

Since it’s Halloween tomorrow, I decided to create a healthy Halloween inspired treat for the blog! I’m not sure that caramel apples especially “halloweeny” (?), but that’s what instantly came to mind so… I went with it!

I got some amazing red delicious apples the other day – juicy, bright, crunchy, and crispy and knew they would be perfect for this treat!

Seeing as true caramel is basically a combination of sugar and butter, and that just wasn’t going to fly, I had to come up with my own healthified caramel concoction!

I’d made “caramel” before in my apple caramel pancakes – remember those? And it turned out great, so I went with the same method – using dates!

I wanted to make sure that the caramel turned out creamier and really stuck to the apples, so I used creamed coconut in the mix as well.

The coconut gave the caramel sauce this amazing flavour and richness – it turned out to be a perfect combination! After a few whisks in the bullet, the caramel sauce came to life.

It’s really amazing what dates can do! Not only do dates provide a natural sweetness that works in energy bars, ice cream, and even savoury dishes – they also contain a good amount of calcium and potassium, B vitamins, and dietary fibre!

I love making little bite size treats like my PB Banana Bites or the Healthy Turtles – so by putting the apple slices on popsicle sticks it created the whole “caramel apple” look and still kept these as individual bite size treats! Perfect for a halloween party!

I used “superfoods” as my “candy coatings” for the “caramel apples” ….whoa “quotation” “overload” …

The superfoods up the nutritional ante even more and also make these treats look so cute and appetizing! My superfood choices were ones that I already had hanging around in my pantry – goji berries, shredded unsweetened coconut, dried apricots, raw almonds, dark chocolate, and raw hemp seeds!

You could easily use any other kind of healthy topping you want – others I thought of would be chia seeds, chopped dried apple rings, raisins, walnuts, pistachios, puffed quinoa, crushed pretzels, natural graham crumbs… the list goes on!

These would definitely be a fun little treat to make with the kiddos, and they could enjoy using their own healthy toppings of choice to decorate the “caramel” dipped slices!

It’s all about using a little bit of imagination and keeping health a priority! These are the perfect halloween treat that won’t be creating any cavities or tummy aches – as they say, an apple a day… right?!

"Caramel" Dipped Superfood Apple Treats

 

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Ingredients

• ½ cup pitted dates
• ¼ cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon coconut butter or creamed coconut
• 2 - 3 organic apples, each cut into 8 slices
• Superfood toppings of choice - goji berries, nuts, hemp seeds, dark chocolate, dried fruits, coconut, etc.
• Popsicle sticks

Instructions

1. Add dates to a bowl and boil water.
2. Pour water over the dates and allow to soak for at least 30 minutes.
3. Once soaked transfer dates and soaking water to a small food processor or magic bullet.
4. Add in coconut butter or creamed coconut.
5. Blend until very smooth - you may need to add a little more water, but you do not want the mixture to be runny.
6. Cut apples and skewer each apple slice carefully with a popsicle stick.
7. Dip one half of each apple slice in the date "caramel" mixture to coat, and roll in the preferred topping so it sticks to the caramel.
8. Place apple on a plate and repeat with the rest of the slices.
9. Once finished place the apples in the freezer to set for 30 minutes.
10. Enjoy!

Notes

You may leave these in the freezer as long as you like and enjoy them frozen, or allow them to thaw for 5-10 minutes before consuming. If you do not like them frozen, you can keep them in the fridge instead. They should be consumed the same day they are made.

3.5.3208

Christal

Nutritionist in the Kitch