Oct 29, 2021

Dipped Apples

Crunchy and sweet dipped apples in three different flavours for Halloween.

Halloween is far from healthy as far as treats go, so I like to try to mix in fresh fruits to balance it out. Instead of having an entire apple coated in a layer of candy or caramel, I prefer these wedges. It gives me the option of trying different dips and sprinkles and I end up eating less candy as a result.

Below I've provided directions for three of my favourite dips. My vegan salted caramel, a simple melted chocolate, and a yummy yogurt dip. They are great on their own, but optionally you can add toppings like crushed nuts, coconut flakes, etc. though those are not included in the calorie counts below.

All three dips can be vegan and dairy-free.

TIP: For the yogurt dip any flavour of yogurt can be used. The key is to remove any excess liquid or buy a pressed version.

Ingredients

(Makes 16 servings per dip)

6 large apples, cut into 1/8ths
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup crushed peanuts (optional)
1 cup crushed biscuits (optional)
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)

caramel dip:

1 cup raw coconut sugar
1/4 cup water
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup refined coconut oil
1/4 cup soymilk (or other plant-based milk)
1/2 teaspoon salt

chocolate dip:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or vegan chocolate)
1 teaspoon coconut oil

yogurt dip:

2 cups (500g) vanilla Greek yogurt, pressed or drained (or non-dairy yogurt if drained of excess liquid)
5 cups (625g) baking monk fruit sweetener (or confectioners sugar)

Directions

Prepare a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or silicone liner. Place sheet pan and whole apples in the refrigerator to cool for several hours before beginning this recipe.

Wash, dry, and cut each apple into 1/8ths removing the core and stem. Rub the flesh of each apple wedge lightly with lemon juice and pat dry. Insert a skewer into each wedge for better handling. Dip each apple wedge halfway into the dip of choice and add additional coating of crushed nuts, biscuit, or coconut flakes as desired (optional).

Place dipped apple wedges onto the sheet pan and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes to allow the dip to harden. Enjoy!

caramel:

In a clean saucepan add the sugar, water, and cream of tartar. Turn the heat to medium and let it begin to boil, but don't stir it at this stage (swishing the pan around a little is ok if you need to).

After the sauce has boiled for 5 minutes watch it closely. Within a minute or two more the bubbles will reduce in size and the sauce will get darker. You'll begin to detect the light aroma of caramel. When this starts to happen, remove it from the heat and immediately add the coconut oil and whisk.

Pour in soymilk and keep whisking for another 30 seconds. Be careful as the sauce will splatter. Keep stirring. The soymilk will slowly incorporate into the caramel and the splattering will stop.

Add the salt and continue stirring for another 10 seconds. This sauce will thicken as it cools; however, it can be heated further on low heat to evaporate more liquids to make it thicker for dipping.

chocolate:

Place the chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl and use the reheat setting, or other lower power setting. Melt for 20 seconds, then check its progress. Melt in additional 10-second increments, watching very closely that the chocolate does not begin to burn. Once melted, stir in the coconut oil.

yogurt:

In a large mixing bowl add the yogurt. With a handheld mixer on low speed, blend the yogurt adding the sweetener 1 cup at a time. Once all the sweetener is added and well combined, increase mixer speed to medium and blend for an additional minute.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (apple + caramel):

Nutritional Information Per Serving (apple + chocolate):

Nutritional Information Per Serving (apple + yogurt):