Toffee Dip and Apples

It's still technically fall and I needed something tasty to bring for a friend's birthday party (Happy 40th Eric!), so I decided to whip up this yummy dip. It has only seven ingredients total, so that makes it even lovelier. It may not look amazing, but what it's lacking in photogenicness, it more than makes up for in taste. It's creamy, sweet, and the little toffee Heath pieces add a nice texture and flavor, and really make the dip in my opinion. And you eat it with fruit, so it's good for you. Anyone with me on that??

You'll often hear it recommended to use lemon juice to slow the browning process after cutting an apple, but I find that the lemon leaves too much of a lemony flavor on the apples. Turns out pineapple juice also stops browing, but doesn't really impact the flavor of the apple at all. I like to buy the little cans of pineapple juice located in the juice aisle at the grocery store and just open one when I'm cutting up a massive amount of apples. I cut up six Pink Lady apples to take and it seemed to be just about right for the amount of dip we had.

 My big girl was my taste-tester.

The finished product. Remember, it's not beautiful, but looks aren't everything.  

Toffee Dip for Apples

Yield: 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1-8 oz. block cream cheese, softened (Neufchâtel or 1/3 less-fat cream cheese works great in this recipe)
• 3/4 c. toffee bits (Skor or Heath bits can be found in the chocolate chip aisle)
• 1 c. pineapple juice
• 6-8 apples, cored and sliced

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl, beat at medium speed of a mixer until smooth. Add the toffee chips and blend in well by hand. Cover and chill.

Combine juice and apples in a bowl, toss well. Drain apples and serve with the dip.

Source: Cooking Light Magazine