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Happy #SundaySupper all! Today we are celebrating the annual apple harvest that happens every fall. With the leaves turning colors, pumpkin spice lattes brewing, and crisp apples ready for picking, fall is a great time to take a walk and reflect on life. Life is funny sometimes. You’re on a path towards one thing, then you find yourself going towards something you weren’t expecting. Like me moving to a small town so I can work in the access machine industry (I didn’t even know this company existed). Or spending all your spare time developing and sharing recipes. Or making a cheeseball and ending up with a dip. People always say it’s the journey, not the destination. Well as long as I’m on this journey, I’m going to pack along this Caramel Apple Butter Cheesecake Dip because it is absolutely addicting. It is homemade caramel sauce mixed with apple butter then combined with cream cheese. The perfect dip to dunk your apple slices or graham crackers in.
Like I said, this recipe was supposed to be a cheeseball. You know, that round ball of cheese you often see at holiday parties surrounded by crackers. I was going to make a caramel apple butter ball then roll it in toasted pecans. However, when I added the intended amount of caramel apple butter sauce, there wasn’t enough apple butter flavor. Should I add more sauce to get more flavor, risking that it may be too loose to roll into a ball? I hate when you tell me it’s apple butter but then can barely taste apple butter. Then I thought, well should I add more powdered sugar to firm it up? The mixture was already sweet with the caramel sauce. Should I really add in more sugar? I’m not sure what clicked, but I decided it classified as a dip because it was good enough to eat with a spoon alone.
I prefer dipping apple slices, but graham crackers or even gingersnap cookies work as well. If you dip apples, that cancels out the calories, right? I mean, fruit is healthy after all.
When you make the caramel sauce, I urge you to be extra careful. I’ve burned myself on hot caramel years ago, and the scar lasted for a long time. Use a deep pot because when you add the cream, it will bubble up. Do not taste the caramel either until it cools down a bit because you do not want to burn your tongue. Also, take your sugar off of the heat as soon as it turns brown, even if the shade looks a bit light. It will continue cooking. If you take it off when it gets the right shade of amber, it will be burnt by the time it finishes.
Caramel Apple Butter Cheesecake Dip
Author: Carla Cardello (www.chocolatemoosey.com)
Serves: 2 cups
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup apple butter
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- Apple slices or graham crackers, for dipping
Instructions
- In a deep saucepan, spread granulated sugar in an even layer. Cook over medium heat, watching it carefully until it starts to turn an amber color. Remove from the heat. The sugar keeps cooking, so don’t let it get too dark or it will be burnt by the time you are done. Slowly whisk in half of the cream. Be careful because it will bubble up. When it dies down a bit, finish whisking in the rest of the cream then whisk in salt. If the sugar hardens, place the pan back over low heat and stir until it softens again. Strain into a bowl. Whisk in the apple butter. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Beat in the caramel sauce until smooth. Refrigerate an hour before serving. Serve with apple slices or graham crackers.
Notes
If you don’t want to make homemade caramel sauce, substitute 1 1/4 cup already-made caramel sauce. Mix that with the apple butter then proceed with beating it into the cream cheese mixture.
If you have a bushel of apples to use up, check out these awesome apple recipes from the rest of the #SundaySupper group:
Soups, Salads, Starters and Breads
- Cinnamon Apple Chips- Shockingly Delicious
- Apple Celery Salad- In the Kitchen with Audrey and Maurene
- Mini Apple Pumpkin Pancakes – The Daily Dish Recipes
- Overnight Apple Cinnamon French Toast- In the Kitchen with KP
- Curried Apple and Leek Soup-Soni’s Food for Thought
- Endive Spears Topped With Apple, Blue Cheese and Hazelnut Salad- The Hand That Rocks the Ladle
- Homemade Apple Jam – My Trials in the Kitchen
- Caramel Apple Butter Cheesecake Dip- Chocolate Moosey
- Caramel Apple Bread – famfriendsfood
- Apple Pie Bread Baker Street
- Apple, Bacon & Brie Popovers- I Run for Wine
- Apple and Almond Brie Puff Pastry- Family Foodie
- Apple, Leek and Gruyere Tarts- There and Back Again
Main Meals
- Slow Cooker Honey Apple Pork Loin- The Meltaways
- Apple-Glazed Meatballs- The Messy Baker
- Apples & Buttons (Ham, Apples and Dumplings)- Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Skillet Pork with Sweet Spiced Apples- Mama Mommy Mom
- Chicken Apple Meatloaf with Tarragon Tomato Sauce – Diabetic Foodie
- Baked Tilapia Apple Crisp- Daddy Knows Less
- Pork Tenderloin with Calvados Cream Sauce Sustainable Dad
- #SundaySupper Pulled Pork Sandwich With Pickled Red Onions Kwistin’s Favorites
Sides
- Harvest Rice- Webicurean
- Wild Rice with Apples, Dried Cranberries, and Walnuts – Ruffles and Truffles
- Apple Topped Sweet Potato Mash- Momma’s Meals
- Warm Spice Pecan Raisin Apple Chutney- Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
Desserts
- Double Apple Pot Pie- What Smells So Good?
- Apple Walnut Coffee Cake- The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
- Apple Streusel Cobbler- Big Bear’s Wife
- Apple & Moroccan Cinnamon Gooey Sticky Buns- Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends
- Spiced Caramel Apple Pie-Chelsea’s Culinary Indulgence
- Apple Pear Kuchen for #SundaySupper (Apfel Birnen Kuchen)- Galactosemia in PDX
- Apple Strudel - Magnolia Days
- Old Fashioned Apple Crisp with Caramel Sauce-Noshing with the Nolands
- Apple Cheesecake- Vintage Kitchen
- Caramel Apple Crumble Bars- Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks
- Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting- From Fast Food to Fresh Food
- Cinnamon Apple Dessert Chimichangas- Juanita’s Cocina
- Nutella Apple Quesadilla- Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
- Apple Crisp Ice Cream- Cravings of a Lunatic
- Bavarian Apple Torte- The Lovely Pantry
- Streusel Apple Crumb Pie + Pie Freezer Kits- Meal Planning Magic
- French Apple Cobbler with Cinnamon-Maple Whipped Cream Weekend Gourmet
- Chunky Apple-Apricot Bread Pudding- Comfy Cuisine
- Apple Butter Spice Cake – Home Cooking Memories
- Apple Pie and Custard- Happy Baking Days
- #GlutenFree Deep Dish Carmel Apple Pie- Cooking Underwriter
- Apple Brownies That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Country Apple Dumplings- Mom’s Test Kitchen
- Apple-Gingersnap Cookies- Tora’s Real Food
- Apple and Cranberry Turnovers- Flour on my Face
- Applesauce Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze- Hip Foodie Mom
- Caramel Frosted Apple Cookies- No One Likes Crumbley Cookies
- Apple and Pecans Cake- Basic N Delicious
- Apple Pull Apart Monkey Bread- Gotta Get Baked
Beverages
- Spiced Apple Ale Small Wallet Big Appetite
- Apple Chia Tea- Pippi’s in the Kitchen Again
Please be sure you join us on Twitter throughout the day during #SundaySupper. We’ll be meeting up at 7:00 pm (Eastern) for our weekly #SundaySupper live chat where we’ll talk about our favorite apple recipes! All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag, or you can follow us through TweetChat! We’d also love to feature your apple recipes on our #SundaySupper Pinterest board and share them with all of our followers!
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Holy moly! This is my dream come true dip! caramel + apple butter + cream cheese = heaven!
Now you mention it, hot caramel and my body have a painful attraction to each other… :/
I like how it turned out into a nice-looking-most-likely-delicious-tasting dip.
Wow – this sounds like absolute perfection to dip apple slices in! I could go for a bowl of that dip right about now…
Carla, this is awesome! You are really getting into all “dip” recipes, aren’t you? Love all the combinations of ingredients….great recipe!
Carla, I love fruit dips, and yes all calories are canceled out by the fruit! Can’t wait to give this a try!
This is better than a cheeseball I might say. I like how it got you thinking about deep stuff like life´s journey; only we food nuts understand how a recipe can do that! LOL
Have a great sunday Carla!
I can already see this as a featured item at a Halloween party. So perfect for the season. And I know it is time I made caramel sauce again.
Oh yum!!! Love the suggestion for graham crackers also, that sounds so incredibly good with some apple and dip. My girls would love this!
Love using apples as dippers!
I like your way of thinking, Carla. Of course healthy apples cancels out the calories in the dip. It’s a win-win situation. This dip looks amazing, and I bet it’s even better as a dip, as opposed to a cheese ball. Happy #SS!
Final score: fat pants 1 Cindy 0 ! ;)
This is just perfect for a get-together at this time of year Carla! I have apple butter in the pantry and can’t wait to try it!
Mmmmm, I need to make this AGAIN. I call this “Carla’s Crack”…you’re welcome.
Yum…this is the perfect fall dip. Put out a plate of those graham cracker dipping sticks, some gingersnaps, and two kinds of sliced apples…and you’ve got a great little party platter!
from the looks of this dip, you made the right call! It looks amazing!
Yum!
BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
I think you’re right–if there are apples in the dip, the calories probably don’t count!
I think it’s better that you made it as a dip… all that much easier to get more on the apples!
Hello delicious! Wow I’d love to try this with graham crackers or different types of fruit. I bet pound cake would ever go well with it.
Perfect dessert for football season! You could dip all kinds of things in this!
Yummy ! looks amazing. Simple too ! Will be making this when we need a creamy fruit dip next!
It’s almost sort of healthy…hahahahaha
I love those unexpected little life turns, where you end up so much happier in the end, even if it’s not what you expected when the day started. And, I don’t think you can ever go wrong when apple butter is involved! :)
I think your mistake might have turned out even better because this looks like the perfect consistency for dipping.
mmm. . .this looks good. Plus anything with caramel in it and I’m basically sold. And oh, I totally know about those caramel burns, they hurt and do last a long time!
I’m glad the ball didn’t work out because this dip looks wonderful. I can see enjoying it with a crowd while watching football.
Holy mother. I think I just passed out reading your title. You seriously just turned my favorite fair snack and turned it into a dip!
Fuggedabout using this as a dip – I’d drink it with a straw! It sounds like liquid apple caramel cheesecake. Amazing! Thanks for all the tips about making caramel. I made caramel for the first time a few weeks ago and while I was a bit apprehensive, it was super easy. You’re right about the colour of the caramel and how it keeps cooking, fast!
OMG, this looks SO GOOD! Wow!
That looks insanely good, I have to try it. Your pics are great too!!
Looks sinfully rich – perfect balance for fresh apples!
I just want to dig in with a spoon! I am glad you didn’t go the ball route, this looks amazing!
Goodness, way to make me crack and raid the fridge. This is amazing.
Great save! and I bet this recipe is awesome. I have a favorite apple dip but I am saving this recipe to try out at the next party!
Mmmmm….two of my favorite dessert selections: cheesecake and caramel! I’m afraid I could do a lot of damage to a bowl of this dip! Excellent #SS post, Carla~
Not only does the dip look amazing, so do your fresh apples! My whole family loves apple slices so this would be a fun treat sometime. I will save for our weekend in the mtns!
This sounds so good. My new favorite thing to dip apples in. I’m going to have to learn how to make apple butter so I can make this dip.
I remember the first time making caramel and the recipe said it would bubble a lot and I though, really? How much would it really bubble. But, as you mentioned, YES, it does. Can get quite violent, so your tips are spot on.
Anyway, your dip looks fantastic, Carla….it’s welcome at my parties any day!
mmm. . .this looks delicious. Plus anything with caramel in it and I’m basically in love.
ooo caramel and apple butter combined………. you’re speaking to my heart! haha Love it
whoa! that looks so decadent! thanks for sharing. i’m going to suggest this for thanksgiving…