The Perfect Fall Snack
This cream cheese apple dip is the perfect Fall treat and only takes a minute to whip together. It’s a great way to get your little ones excited both to eat their apples and to help “cook” in the kitchen with you! We love making this dip for a special occasion (or sometimes just a movie night at home) as a family.
Happy Gut, Happy Mind
We are all about gut health in my household and apples are a great “gut-happy” snack that even the kiddos will enjoy. They love them with Cream Cheese Apple Dip.
Apples contain a certain kind of fiber called pectin. Pectin acts as a prebiotic. Prebiotics and probiotics help to introduce good bacterias into our guts. Our gut naturally has trillions of bacteria in it. Some of these are good and some of them are bad. By feeding our gut good bacteria, we are helping it multiply and suppress the bad bacteria that are currently living in it.
Why does this matter?
The reason I place such a big emphasis on gut health for my family is because I believe that many health problems can be mitigated by maintaining a healthy gut. Studies have shown that our mood, thoughts, and ability to respond to stress all directly correlate to how healthy our gut is. In fact, 95% of serotonin (a “happy” hormone that helps to reduce depression and anxiety) is created in our gut. That alone makes placing an emphasis on gut health a priority to me for my family.
Aside from just the mental benefits of a healthy gut, there are a plethora of additional reasons to make this a priority for your family too. Remember, good bacteria in your gut is what keeps the bad bacteria at bay. A few issues that an overabundance of bad bacteria have been proven to cause can include: thyroid and sleep issues, unexplained fatigue, skin issues including irritation and acne, increased cravings and digestive issues, and increased water retention.
Why Fruit Dips?
To me, all of the reasons above are enough to prioritize gut health for my family. I prefer to get our pre and probiotics from whole foods, but for my picky eaters, fruit dips can really be the deciding factor to whether or not they will eat their fruit. Fruit dips have also become a fun party food for us that is still a treat but not exactly the same as an Ice Cream Sunday or chips. Although the dip itself is definitely considered a “treat” I feel good about being able to pair it with the amazing gut benefits of the apples.
Heath Bar Apple Dip
This is such an easy recipe to make. It’s a great last minute snack or Friday night treat. In college, I was very disciplined with what I consumed and how often I consumed sweets so I would plan to make this Heath Bar Apple Dip after my last class every Friday and that quickly became one of the highlights of my week every single week. Maybe that’s why I still love it so much – nothing tastes quite as good as an old recipe that makes you reminisce.
My family loves this apple dip too. It is pretty sweet so we don’t end up eating all of it ever but it does save well for a couple of days in the fridge. We like to make it as a family activity in the afternoon and then once the house is asleep my husband and I sneak back into the kitchen to share the leftovers. This makes it even sweeter. My favorite kind of snacks are the leftover-midnight snacks!
There are two ways to make this apple dip recipe. The first is the “original” recipe AKA the one that I made every week in college. The second is a slightly healthier option. This is the one that I normally make for my family. The sugar is essentially cut in half and the cream cheese is swapped for low-fat cream cheese. Both are great apple dips, but in my opinion the healthy option actually tastes better since it’s not as sweet. I also feel much better feeding this one to my family since it isn’t as packed with added sugars.
The steps to make both the original and the healthier options drips are identical.
How to make Heath Bar Apple Dip
First, Combine 1 8oz pack of cream cheese with 1/4 Cup of brown sugar and 2 tsp of vanilla extract and mix on high until smooth. If you are making the healthier version, use reduced fat cream cheese and reduce the sugar to 1 tbsp of brown sugar.
Next, fold in 1/4 cup of the Heath Bar baking chips. Use 2 tbsp if you are making the healthier version. You want to make sure that you fold these in instead of using the mixer. What makes this dip unique is the crunch from the toffee and I’ve found that you lose that crunch if you use the mixer for this step.
Lastly, transfer your apple dip to a serving bowl and top with 1-2 tbsp of additional Heath Bar baking chips.
Serve immediately and save leftovers in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
In the nutrition facts I have calculated the original recipe to make about 5 servings of apple dip; however, my family are all huge “scoopers” rather than “dippers.” I’ve seen this serve as many as 10 people at a party. I wanted to add that in just to give you are better idea of how much apple dip this recipe really makes!
Toffee Apple Dip
This cream cheese apple dip is the perfect Fall treat and only takes 5 minutes to whip together!
5
servings5
minutes220
kcalKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
1 Package Cream Cheese
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Heath Bar Baking Chips
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Directions
- In a mixing bowl, combine softened cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whip on high for 1 minute.
- Fold in Heath baking chips with a spatula.
- Scoop into your favorite bowl and top with more Heath baking chips.
- Serve immediately with fresh apple slices.
Notes
- If you are planning on saving this dip in the refrigerator, wait to add in the baking chips until you are ready to serve. This dip saves well, but the baking chips will lose their crunch and add sugar water once refrigerated.
- Nutrition Facts below are an estimate.
Nutrition Facts
5 servings per container
Serving Size1 servings
- Amount Per ServingCalories220
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat
15g
24%
- Total Carbohydrate
20g
7%
- Sugars 19g
- Protein 2g 4%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
