Happy Autumnal Equinox! As the evenings become as crisp as the apples, darkness begins to triumph over light. Today we celebrate the closure of summer, the dying of the light, and prepare ourselves for a new season. Autumn. As the trees shed their leaves and the plants die back, shedding old beliefs or thought patterns and going inward to feel our roots, our connection with the earth, can be quite powerful at this time.
Last night I was part of an equinox celebration (albeit a day early). The night was crisp and the sky crystal clear with the moon almost full. A warm fire, songs, and good food shared amongst friends composed most of our celebration. One friend brought a delectable raw caramel dip and sliced fresh apples. It was so tasty that I tried to recreate it today. Success! It tastes very close to her version (thanks Janet). Enjoy!
Raw Caramel Dip
This dip is very easy to make, you just need a few hours for the dates and cashews to soak. And I suppose it isn't technically "raw" because it contains maple syrup and cashews that are not truly raw. You can also thin this out with extra water and drizzle it over your favorite dessert.
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup medjool dates, pitted (about 8 to 10 dates)
1/4 cup grade B maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch sea salt
date soaking water as needed
Place the cashews into a small bowl and cover with water. Let soak at room temp for about 2 to 3 hours. Place the pitted dates into a separate small bowl and cover with water. Let soak for about 2 to 3 hours.
To make the dip, drain and rinse the cashews then place them into a blender or Vita-Mix along with the dates (save the water), maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Add about 6 to 8 tablespoons of the date soaking water and blend. Blend until ultra smooth, scraping down the sides if needed.
Scoop out into small bowls and serve with sliced fresh apples. Source: www.NourishingMeals.com
More Apple Recipes:
Alissa Segersten holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University. She is the founder of Whole Life Nutrition, the mother of five children, a whole foods cooking instructor, professional recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is passionate about helping others find a diet that will truly nourish them, and offers elimination diet recipes, healthy gluten-free recipes, paleo and vegan recipes, as well as tips for feeding your family a nourishing, whole foods diet. Alissa is the author of two very popular gluten-free, whole foods cookbooks and guidebooks: 
This sounds fabulous. I am about to test cashews so it came just in time!
ReplyDeleteYummy! This looks really really good. And I'm totally in the mood for it, as it's currently raining outside my window :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful dip idea! Love the dates/cashews/maple syrup combo, I bet this is just delicious! I think I might finally be ready for Summer to end...
ReplyDeleteOh My Golly - is 530am too early to be eating caramel dip? hahah, ok, hows about I just start making it and enjoy it later today. CAN'T WAIT!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so wonderful, healthy and fresh! Saving this idea!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant, Ali! I know I would love this. I can't really tolerate the typical caramel any more ... just way too sweet and not healthy like this version. I truly can't wait to make this recipe! Happy Autumnal Equinox to you, too!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Shirley
Wow!!! This looks amazing - my daughter is going to love this!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, Ali, this is awesome! I was just wishing I had a mock caramel apple dip! I have everything and will make it soon—can't wait! Love, Kely
ReplyDeleteGood food is meant to be shared!
ReplyDeleteThis does look YUMMY!!! But I was curious what can you do to substitute the Dates? It's not necessarily the sweetness but I am not a big date fan...
ReplyDeleteThanks!!!!
Ali, this is perfect timing. I have a recipe for an upside down Apple "cake" (in quotes because it is actually pretty healthy) that I have been wanting to make for a while. I had thought that a drizzle of caramel would be perfect for it. This will be the perfect finish for it to keep with my healthier version!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE caramel dip and was trying to figure out a "real food" way to make it. Thanks! Fall isn't fall without caramel apples. :)
ReplyDeleteThis looked so good I just had to make it ... an extra special after school snack for my boys. They LOVED it! (And so did I!) Thanks for a great fall treat!
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness! This is incredible. Thank you for such a treat! I'm eating it right now! This recipe is a keeper and a treasure!
ReplyDeleteEating this right now and am bringing some over to my neighbor. This recipe is a treasure and a real treat. I don't need to cock my head to one side and close one eye to get it to taste "normal." It is amazing. Quite possibly my new addiction. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi Ali and Tom! I'm a huge fan of your blog! I've tried almost all of your sweet recipes. I am lactose and casein intolerant and in my country (Chile) there are almost non dairy free treats at the supermarkets.
ReplyDeleteI am sixteen, and in my hole life I had never go to a party or birthday without suffering because I can't have a slice of pizza or some cake.
So it's a pleasure to discover every day that I can cook healthy and delicious meals with no problem.
Thank you so so so much, for sharing all these goodies and post them.
You are my favorite chefs EVER!
Good idea! Are Vita-Mixers really $450? Dang!
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, so luscious! I am so running out of snack time ideas ... the kids and I inhaled a bag of Glutino pretzels today ... NOT good, so empty. I will try this one ... and so excited about apples coming into season.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, been waiting for something like that?!?
ReplyDeleteDarrell
OMG I love this! Yum. So tell me, what do you mean by the cashews not really being raw? I'm confused.
ReplyDeleteFab photos and what a fun dip-I can't wait to make this! I have avoived caramel apples for years-not this year :)
ReplyDeleteWow! I made this today and just ate some for dessert with apple slices. Great recipe! I always love your blog!
ReplyDeleteAmazing! Great fix for my sweet tooth.
ReplyDeleteWe totally grew up on the caramel apple dip (gross now!) from the store. This will be totally better; finally a REAL food option.
ReplyDeleteThis looks absolutely lovely :)
ReplyDeleteAlso - just emailed you my submission for this month's Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free!!
I love treats like this. Mejool dates and their soaking water blend up well with so many concoctions. Just by changing the nuts, adding cinnamon, tweaking the "sweetness" and so on -- you end up with several different options. A good mejool date tastes like caramel to me to begin with, so they make a perfect "launching pad" for all kinds of treats. I must try this cashew combo. Sounds great!
ReplyDeleteMelissa
My wife made this, and like everything she does, she adjusted it, this time she thinned it down for a salad dressing: shredded carrots, beets, cabbage; bed of lettuce, onion and garlic; and a cup of cooked rice. It was mostly raw and very, very filling. We had some apple slices with the dip, as well, and really enjoyed it that way, too. Amazingly good food.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this recipe. I have a little girl who is Failure to Thrive and gluten free. It is so hard to find healthy foods with good nutrition that are calorie dense that she will eat. This was a hit. She skipped the apples and ate it with a spoon. Thanks so much. We love the Avocado Fudgesicles too.
ReplyDeleteSO GOOD!!! I whipped this up for my ladies bible study, and it was a huge hit. Even my husband loved it, and that's saying something. Can't wait to try this on my GF waffles on Saturday morning... Going into my first Fall eating GF, I was worried I'd have few options, but obviously I was wrong!
ReplyDeleteThis looks fantastic! And so easy. I've always been a sucker for caramel apple dip and I love that this wouldn't have to fall into a 'vacation meal' category :)
ReplyDeleteThanks!
This is a fantastic recipe! My gf/cf/ef son, whom you wouldn't typically catch eating a nut, loved it. He asks for the "candy dip" quite often now. Thanks - there are many applications for this.
ReplyDeleteThis was such a hit! I used 1/2 a vanilla bean, and forgot the maple syrup...it was yummy and caramelly :)
ReplyDeleteThis was delicious! I used my food processor and it turned out great. One of these days I would like to add unsweetened coconut and some pecans and top a chocolate cake with it. A better version of german chocolate cake. Thanks so much. I have enjoyed this site and your book.
ReplyDeleteI made this - it was delicious! I had it with apple slices for four days straight =) Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteThis looks awesome! I was craving caramel dip this weekend, but I refuse to buy the junk at the store and I didn't feel like taking the time to make a batch at home. This is perfect - healthy and will soothe my craving!
ReplyDeleteglad you linked this up to GF Holiday! I made this not long ago and it was GREAT! Do you have other ideas for it besides as an apple dip? Cause I made a LOT, and it's so rich, you can't exactly eat a bunch at once. I do want to make it again when our kids spend a week with us at Christmas, so they have munchies!
ReplyDeleteI saw this over at City Life Eats - wonderful dip, I must try making it!
ReplyDeleteAli, this looks awesome! Sending love to you and your sweet family! xo. Debbie
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteJust wondering if other kinds of dates will work with this. I can't remember the variety I have at home but it's a large container from Costco and I use them often for baking/sweetening recipes. You specified medjool so I wanted to check. Thanks!
Hi there - this looks wonderful! I am interested to know if you can dip whole apples in this and refrigerate? Will the dip become to hard? I wanted to make this tonight, so if anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much,
Sherrie from Living Simply Gluten Free
www.livingsimplyglutenfree.com
Hello! Thank you so much for blogging! I have learned so much from reading everything you posted.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if another nut could be used instead of cashews? I am allergic to cashews and pistachios, mangoes and am gluten intolerant. My daughter is allergic to peanuts, fish, wheat, and chicken eggs and my husband is intolerant to apples. My son is also gluten intolerant and allergic to mangoes.
This looks amazing, I just don't know enough about the properties of cashews and don't know if another nut would be okay to substitute.
Thank you so much!
Try walnuts. They are very oily nuts and might be able to work!
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