Halloween is coming up fast. Can we all sit here for a moment and just think about HOW IT’S ALREADY THE END OF OCTOBER?! Let’s just slow everything down today and appreciate that it’s not snowing outside (at least where I am) and there are beautiful fall colours around us and we can eat all of the caramel apples our hearts desire. Like these superfood spiked caramel apple slices. Let me just say that again. SUPER. FOOD. SPIKED. CARAMEL. APPLE. SLICES. You dig?
Let’s give them a go!
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For those of you who have been around this website you may have seen this orange cardamom caramel (with coconut sugar and ghee). I absolutely LOVE this combination and am thinking of making them into little candies for Christmas time. YAAAUM. Caramel made with ghee is delicious but this time around I wanted to make a vegan caramel.
I ended up swapping the ghee for some coconut butter but from researching online it looks like coconut oil works just as well. There are lots of ways to make caramel out there but I found this to be easy, you don’t really need a candy thermometer (who actually has one of those?) and super delicious (while being vegan, dairy free, paleo etc, etc, etc). I have found that you can also add a tablespoon or two of almond butter if so desired (ummm yasss).
Above is the caramel before it went into the fridge. Very saucy and pourable. Below is the caramel after it was in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Creamy and spreadable! Perfect for spreading on apples!
Super foods are super fun to use in recipes but are not necessary if you don’t have them! Try to make these approachable and use what you have in your cupboard. Things like cinnamon and your everyday spices ARE superfoods. USE THEM! Here are the combos that I came up with and love:
- Cinnamon infused caramel with hemp seeds
- Chaga infused caramel with cacao nibs
- Elderberry infused caramel with goji berries
- Maca, lucuma and vanilla infused caramel with flaky sea salt
Feel free to experiment with you favourites and whatever you have on hand!
Looking for more superfood recipes? Try these:
Hazelnut Hot Chocolate with CBD oil
Super Fruit Salad with Lemon Coconut Whip
Collagen Protein Bars (no Bake)
Iced Dandelion Latte with Maca Condensed Coconut Milk
Tried the recipe? loved it? Rate it and tag #sweetlizzy on Instagram!
PrintCaramel Apple Slices with Superfoods (vegan and paleo)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 1 1/3 cup 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: vegan, dairy free, paleo
Ingredients
For the Caramel:
1 400mL can full fat coconut milk (US/CAN)
1/4 cup coconut butter (US/CAN)
pinch sea salt
Superfood Additions:
1/4 tsp elderberry crystals
30 drops Chaga Extract(US/CAN)
1–2 apples, sliced
lemon juice for brushing on the apples
Instructions
In a small pot add all of the caramel ingredients (coconut milk, coconut sugar, coconut butter and sea salt). Put on medium/low heat and bring to a boil, stirring often. It will look as though it is going to foam over. Keep stirring. Reduce the heat and let it simmer, stirring often until the caramel thickens and turns a slightly darker shade. It takes about an hour so have patience. The caramel should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Once you have your caramel, set it off the heat for a few minutes to cool before adding the superfoods. Then, separate the caramel into four equal parts and put in small jars (mine were each just under 1/3 cup but this will differ slightly for each person). Add in 1/4 tsp cinnamon to one jar, the chaga drops to another jar, the elderberry to the third jar and the lucuma, vanilla and maca to the last jar. Stir them all until they superfoods are well incorporated. The lucuma and maca one may need a whisk. Set the jars in the fridge until they start to thicken up (about 15-20 minutes).
Meanwhile get your cacao nibs, goji berries, hemp seeds and sea salt ready for dipping. Slice your apples and brush them with lemon juice (to prevent browning).
When the caramels are thick and creamy, spread them on the apples and sprinkle on your toppings of choice. My favourite combinations are: cinnamon with hemp seeds, chaga with cacao nibs, elderberry with goji berry, lucuma, maca and vanilla with flaky sea salt.
Place the sliced apples back in the fridge to solidify even more. Serve immediately.
Notes
*If you want a caramel sauce for dipping, cook the caramel less (about 40 minutes) and you will have a nice pourable/dippable sauce.
Keywords: caramel, apple, superfood, vegan, paleo
Dawn says
October 28, 2018 at 2:54 pmthis looks AWESOME! I think I may make these for my party next weekend. LUV!!!!
★★★★★
Sweet Lizzy says
October 31, 2018 at 8:42 amYay!! I hope you love them!