Recipe: Quick & easy caramel apple dip

In my 31 years of life, I have never carved a pumpkin. I've lived a deprived existence. This Sunday, however, a few of us are getting together and doing just that. Not only are we making jack-o'-lanterns, we are going all out and making caramel apples too. (I would bob for apples but my occasional lockjaw will prevent me from winning at that game, and if you know me, I must be excellent at everything I do.)

With Halloween being around the corner and the start of autumn, I have been seeing a lot of caramel apple recipes everywhere. Today I got the "Recipe of the Day" email from Food Network, and guess what? It was for Perfect Caramel Apples. I decided, however, to take the portion-controlled route and look for a caramel apple dip instead in which we can dip slices instead of entire humongous apples on a stick (which may make me sick). So although we won't be making this until actual Halloween on Sunday with "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" playing on the TV in the background (I have all the holiday Peanuts DVDs and like to watch them on their appropriate holiday as tradition).

The recipe calls for Granny Smith apples (as pictured), which are so named after Maria Ann Smith who founded them in Australia in 1868. They are tart, juicy, and crisp: suitable for baking and used in salads since they take longer to brown than other varieties. The Beatles even adopted the Granny Smith as the logo for their Apple Records label. I personally find them a little too tart to eat raw, preferring fuji or gala apples, but the color is just oh so pretty.

Recipe: Caramel Apple Dip

Summary: Original recipe from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 6 apples, preferably Granny Smith, sliced
• 16 individually wrapped caramel pcs., unwrapped
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
• 1/2 c. brown sugar (optional
• 1 sm. pkg. chopped or crushed peanuts (optional)

Instructions

1. In a med. saucepan over med.-low heat, melt caramel with water, stirring frequently.
2. Once caramel is melted, add cream cheese to saucepan and stir frequently until well-blended. Add brown sugar as needed to achieve desired sweetness. Add crushed nuts, remove from heat, and serve with sliced apples.

Diet type: Vegetarian

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: USA (Traditional)

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