Salted Caramel Apple Dip

5 from 1 vote

Caramel apples in dip form! This starts with a layer of whipped vanilla cream cheese, topped with gooey caramel sauce on top and layered with chopped peanuts to give it a sweet and salty flavor! Slice up some granny smith apples and serve along for dipping!

Prep Time15

Total Time15

Course: Desserts

Calories: 218kcal

Author: Marzia

Equipment

Ingredients

1 11.5 ounce packet of caramels (regular or salted)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 8-ounce brick cream cheese, softened
4 ounces mascarpone cheese softened (see notes)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 tablespoons powdered sugar
⅔ cup lightly-salted peanuts chopped (or use pistachios, almonds, etc.)
3-4 Granny Smith apples sliced for serving

Instructions

MELT: Add the caramels to a saucepan with cream and heat over low heat until the caramels melt into a creamy sauce; set aside and allow the sauce to cool.
MIX: Add the cream cheese to a mixing bowl and using a hand blender, blend until smooth. Add mascarpone, vanilla, and powdered sugar; mix to combine. Taste and adjust with another tablespoon of powdered sugar if desired. Remember, the caramel will add lots of sweetness, so I usually don't add more!
SERVE: Spread the cream cheese mixture in a 2-quart baking dish and smooth it out into an even layer. Pour the caramel on top and spread evenly. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Allow the dip to cool for at least 1½ hours so that the cream cheese layer and caramel firm up. It’s much better to scoop that way! Serve with apple slices.

Notes

Swap the mascarpone: I like to use a little mascarpone to elevate the flavor of this dip. It makes it creamier and a bit richer in my opinion. Feel free to use another 4 ounces of cream cheese if you don’t want to use mascarpone!
Swap the peanuts: To make this more of a peanut allergy-friendly dip, feel free to swap the peanuts for toffee bits. I love the combo of lightly salted peanuts with caramel, and it helps curb the sweetness! You could even do a 50:50 mix of the two!
Swap the caramel: You can swap out the homemade caramel sauce for jarred caramel sauce; it works beautifully!
Swap the apples: Granny smith apples add a tart element and curb the sweetness from the caramel, so I think they work best for this recipe. If you'd like to use a different apple variety, you might want to cut back on the powdered sugar in the cream cheese layer to 1-2 tablespoons.

Nutrition