Oh mannnn. I created something magical this weekend my friends. These caramel apples take things to a whole new level of amazing. I didn't even mean for things to happen this way, to be honest. I just kept adding new things to apples and trying various combinations which resulted in caramel apple masterpieces.
I view food as art more often than not. I spend a large amount of time checking out food blogs and Instagram pages which leave me in a constant state of admiration and inspiration to create beautiful and nutritious foods that everyone can enjoy. Putting together various foods to create not only a beautiful display, but also something that tastes great is something that I love doing and it makes me so happy to be discovering others who are doing the same.
These apples are filled and covered with an almond shortbread that you can either bake to create warm apples and a gooey center or leave them raw to snack on them in a hurry. It's up to you and that's the beauty of it! So you have the almond filling and coating which is topped with chocolate and salted caramel popcorn AND topped with cacao nibs and peanut butter if you're down for that. There's so much happening here that your mouth won't know what to do once you bite into this amazing snack. Let's get to it.
Salted Chocolate Covered Caramel Apples
Makes 4 apples
4 apples, core removed
2 cups dates
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Preheat oven to 400 degrees if you're baking your apples. If you're leaving them raw, skip this step. Blend together dates, almonds, sunflower seeds, and maple syrup. Set apples on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Fill center of apples with almond mix and then coat apples with the mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes if desired. If raw, set aside.
1 cup dates
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoon cacao
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1-1 and 1/2 cup popped popcorn
Himalayan salt
Peanut butter
Cacao nibs
Blend together dates, maple syrup, cacao, and coconut oil. Mix together with popcorn. Cover apples with popcorn/chocolate mixture. Top with himalayan salt, peanut butter, and cacao nibs. Serve, enjoy!