Like a sticky-sweet caramel apple.
In liquid form.
Caramel Apples
This recipe reminds me of those gorgeous caramel apples on display at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Until I got my braces, I looked forward to caramel apples every autumn. (After the braces went on, I was probably more upset about not being allowed caramel than gum.)
Ever since I made the (No Sugar!) Cookie Dough Dip, I’d been curious to experiment more with blending dates as a substitute for sugar. I’ve heard people say they think dates have a caramel-like taste, and therefore I figured an apple recipe would be the perfect place to start.
This caramel-apple milkshake manages to capture all the deliciousness of a crisp, juicy apple, dripping with thick caramel sauce.
Caramel Apple Milkshake
(sugar and gluten-free)
- scant 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup pitted dates (such as Sunmaid)
- scant 1/16 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup milk of choice
- 3 tbsp nondairy creamer (I used Silk. You can substitute milk of choice, for a caramel-apple smoothie as opposed to the richer taste of a shake. Or you can sub full-fat canned coconut milk.)
In a little dish, pour a little water over the dates and let them sit for at least two hours. Then blend all other ingredients with the dates and 1 tbsp of the water. (Drain the rest of the water before blending.) Alternatively, you can blend the dates a little before adding the other ingredients. The shake will get thicker as it sits.
Generously topped with Healthy Whipped Cream.
The cream melts into the shake, making it even more rich and delicious. I also drizzled on some brown rice syrup, more for presentation than anything else!
Question of the Day:
Did you ever have braces?
Initially, I was really excited to get my braces on. I even worried I might not need them, because my teeth were always pretty straight. But once the novelty of having braces wore off, I wished I hadn’t needed them. Every orthodontist appointment, I hoped to hear that the darn things were coming off soon!
Yummy link of the day: Healthy Milkshake Recipes.
I just tried this deliciousness, I can honestly say it was great. It was very thick and creamy.
This was delicious! I didn’t have creamer so I used a half cup of unsweetened almondmilk. Dates are so versatile. 😀
GIRL you are a genius! 😀
I got my braces off at age 16 in 1983… and went right from the orthodontist to the mall where I bought the hugest caramel apple. It was the best caramel apple I’ve ever had in my life.
omg this looks too good to be true!!!
I tried this recipe today and it was delicious! (The only change I made was blending in some ice to make it colder.)
I picked up some more dates and applesauce at the store so I could make it again. And, I am thinking of trying some caramel apple oatmeal tomorrow.
I actually froze my almondmilk and applesauce for like 20 minutes, pre-blending… and the second time I made it, I just put it in the fridge for a day prior to drinking (which also made it thicker).
Caramel apple oatmeal sounds insanely delicious!
I had braces from 3rd grade until 9th grade. I had everything from the rubber bands on the front of my teeth to correct my bite to a retainer I’m still supposed to wear to this day. Note: “Supposed to” is the operative phrase in that sentence. Thankfully I never needed head gear or any of those terrible spacers I saw that kids had to wear.
I used to have fun with my braces. I loved picking which colors of rubber bands I would get on my brackets. I’d get green and gold for my school colors, green and red for Christmas, orange and black for Halloween, you name it! My old standby was neon green and hot pink!
It’s safe to say there was a lot of room for improvement with my teeth when I was little, and by the time I got to middle school I wanted those braces off like nothing else. I am thankful that my parents could afford to have me wear those things for so many years, though. A lot of kids in my town weren’t so fortunate. I love my smile now and it was all worth it.
P.S. Thank you very much for all these great recipes! I’ve always had a tough time eating meat morally, and I’m also lactose intolerant, so having all these options for great tasting recipes is wonderful!
if you soak raw cashews w/an equal amount of dates for 1 hour and then blend together w/a few teaspoons of the soak water, a little salt and vanilla, you will swear you are eating caramel.
Still hoping every orthodontist appointment that she’ll tell me she’s taking them off. It’s been 3 1/2 years now!! Agh! She said in the beginning that it would be a year and half to two years. So much for that. This looks awesome though…may have to try it to satisfy my caramel cravings…more because I can’t have dairy rather than I can’t have them because of braces. You can always suck on the chewy things. 🙂
Ahhhh-mazing! I found this by accident when looking for the whipped cream cereal post, and it was just the ticket at the end of a crummy day. I couldn’t believe how thick it got without a frozen banana! Only downside is my blender didn’t fully process the dates, but that might be because I was impatient and didn’t wait more than 2 hours for them to soak, and it left me with little yummy chewy pieces at the bottom of my glass. 🙂 I added cinnamon, and even using unsweetened applesauce, it was perfectly sweet from the dates. Great recipe! As an aside, I noticed it’s missing from the milkshake recipe page (https://lett-trim.today/chocolate-covered-recipes/milkshakes/%3C/a%3E%29 in case you wanted to add it. 🙂