Sweet, buttery, creamy, stretchy caramel wrapped around tart, crisp fall apples without the sugar that lectins love to attach themselves to. Get the recipe!
Who can resist an old fashioned caramel apple? Gooey caramel with rich buttery, creamy, sweetness clinging to a tart and crisp fall apple — it's a treat everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. And they're no trick to make, now that I've figured out the secret to lectin free caramel.
Now, there's a right way and a wrong way to have a caramel apple. First, eat them in fall when apples are in season. Remember, fruit is nature's candy. And if you're following the Plant Paradox plan, you should eat just one, not the whole basket. That goes for these caramel apples, too! Second, don't buy the caramel apples in the chocolate or ice cream shops. They're loaded with sugar! Instead, make them at home with ingredients from Dr. Gundry's YES list.
Making ooey, gooey caramel is easy. Just heat a few ingredients over the stove. Keep a glass of ice water handy to test the caramel for softness. We are going for soft caramel. So, when we test it in cold water, we want to achieve the soft ball stage. If you have a candy thermometer, that's going to be about 235°F.
It's best to eat these caramel apples the same day you make them when their stretch and chew is ideal. This sugar free caramel loses some of its elasticity if it sits too long. So be sure you have some family and friends to help you eat these when you make them. Again, one is enough for anybody!
One last thing! Oligosaccharide syrup is a key ingredient for this recipe. You can use my favorite isomalto oligosaccharide (IMO) syrup off you can find it, or you could try Allulose syrup which is a low-calorie epimer of the monosaccharide sugar fructose and a perfectly fine sweetener in moderation. Or lastly, try yacon syrup, which is composed of fructo oligosaccharides. The thing about prebiotic syrups is that the carbs and fiber nearly cancel each other out. IMO syrup has about 6 grams of sugar per 100 grams. Yacon has about 21 grams of sugar in 100 grams. I prefer IMO syrup, but both will give you a similar result. Keep in mind though that yacon has a lot more sugar. Allulose is considered a rare sugar because it is found occasionally in nature. It isn’t counted as sugar, and it has 1/10 the calories.
Don’t over indulge! Now here’s the recipe:
LFG Caramel Apples
1/2 C Erythritol Granules
1/2 C IMO Syrup, Non-GMO Allulose Syrup or Yacon Syrup
4 T French Cultured Butter
2 t Raw Local Honey
4 T Organic Heavy Cream
1 t Pure Vanilla Extract
6 Crisp Fall Apples
6 Popsicle Sticks
Instructions:
Step 1: Make Soft Caramel
Prepare a shallow bowl of ice water and set aside. In a small, deep saucepan, add erythritol, syrup, butter and honey. Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula. Turn down heat to low. Slowly whisk in half the cream and continue simmering until the mixture turns a light caramel brown. This takes about five minutes. To test if the caramel is ready, put a drop into the ice water. If it forms a soft ball, fish it out and taste it. If it's chewy like caramel, you're done cooking. If not continue until you achieve this "soft ball" stage. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining cream and vanilla.
Step 2: Let Cool
This is important! You can't coat your apples until your caramel is cool enough. Otherwise, most of the caramel will run off the apples. Let the caramel cool at least 5 - 10 minutes before you attempt to coat the apples. You can use a popsicle stick to test. Try coating just the tip of a stick and see how much clings to the stick. If most of it runs off, the caramel is still too hot. While you wait for the caramel to cool slightly, wash and dry your apples thoroughly and insert sticks. And prepare counter space with a sheet of parchment or plastic wrap.
Step 3: Dip the Apples
Prepare the counter with a sheet of parchment or plastic wrap. To coat the apples in caramel, tilt your saucepan so that the hot caramel pools to one side. Holding the stick, insert the apple and twirl it in the caramel. Lift the apple out and continue to twirl allowing the caramel to cool and coat the apple evenly. Set the apple on the parchment or plastic wrap. Repeat until all the apples are dipped in caramel. If the caramel gets too cool, you can heat it up over a low flame just enough to soften, but don't bring to boil as it will harden the caramel and you won't enjoy the chewy, stretchy fun!
I hope you LOVE these caramel apples as much as my son and I do. ENJOY!