5-Spice Apple Dippers with No-Recipe Caramel Sauce

5-Spice Dippers & No Recipe Caramel Sauce

Serves 6 - 8

Caramel Sauce

Liquid sweetener (honey, corn syrup, golden syrup)

Granulated sugar

Water

Heavy cream

Vanilla extract

Salt

Apple Dippers

4 medium apples of the sweet-tart variety (cosmic crisp, honey crisp, pink lady, granny smith), peeled

1 ½ teaspoons 5-spice (you can also sub pumpkin spice)

1 ⅓ cups plus 2 tablespoons gluten free pancake mix, separated

1 cup sparkling water 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ½ quarts vegetable oil

To make the caramel sauce…

First of all - be careful! Caramel sauce is VERY hot and can be dangerous. 

Second! This is more of a method, so if you need a step by step recipe with measurements for caramel sauce, I recommend a good google search! Now onto the sauce…

In a medium saucepan, add enough liquid sugar to cover about half the surface of the pot. Add in your desired amount of sugar - I usually use about half the finished volume of caramel sauce I want. So if you’re looking for 2 cups of finished sauce, eyeball 1 cup of sugar. Add in a splash of water until the mixture stirs easily and looks like wet sand. 

Over medium heat, cook the caramel, stirring regularly with a heat proof spatula, until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking, frequently stirring, until the syrup is a medium to deep amber color and has notes of a marshmallow on fire. The beauty of the liquid sugar is that the syrup will never crystalize so you can stir as much as you'd like. 

Remove from the heat. VERY CAREFULLY add in the heavy creamy while constantly stirring. The mixture is going to bubble up and steam A LOT so be careful! The heavy cream is the other half of the finished volume, so follow the same eyeball measuring rules as sugar. You can adjust the consistency with more or less cream based. Just remember, as caramel cools it always thickens slightly. 

Measure in the vanilla extract with your heart, and add in salt to your liking. Don’t skip the salt! It really brings out the flavors of the caramel, and balances the sweetness. Let cool slightly and serve. This will store well in an airtight container in the refrigerator and warm up in a microwave or saucepan.

To make the apple dippers…

Pour the oil into a heavy bottom pot with high walls. Heat over medium - medium low until the temperature is 350F. You’ll need to keep monitoring the temperature as you cook with a good thermometer.

Use an apple cutter to cut the peeled apples into 8ths. Discard the core, then cut each piece in half lengthwise making 16 pieces per apple. 

Place the slices in a bowl, add the 5-spice powder and toss to coat. Add 2 tablespoons of the pancake mix and toss to coat. Set aside.

In another medium bowl, whisk together remaining 1 ⅓ cup pancake mix, sparkling water, and vanilla extract. 

Prepare a draining plate with paper towel for finished dippers. 

Working in batches once the oil is up to temperature, dip the apple slices into the batter then carefully place in the oil. Cook until golden brown, flipping halfway through. Transfer the cooked dippers to the paper towel. 

Serve warm with caramel sauce.