Come autumn, there’s more than one way to eat your apples. There are spice-laced cups of warm apple cider and the fresh-from-the-fryer cinnamon-sugar apple cider doughnuts. But for me, I like to eat my autumn apples with a hefty coating of caramel. Here this Caramel Apple Dip takes all the components of a loaded caramel apple and deconstructs it into an easy dippable dessert.

Until recently, caramel apples seem to have been forgotten, washed to the wayside as supermarket kits kids assembled as weekend playdate activities. To me, caramel apples were reserved for the fancy chocolate store in the shopping mall or the food booths at the local county fairs of late summer and early fall. Yet nowadays, if you do some quick sleuthing, you’re sure to find gourmet caramel apples at local specialty chocolate stores. These are the ones that are layered with caramel and chocolate (if you’re lucky, there’ll be some sprinkles or peanuts thrown in for good measure). As much as I love these treats, they’re a bit pricey, and honestly, no one wants to share them (at least I don’t). So when I came across this concept of a deconstructed caramel apple in the form of a dip, I knew I had to try it out.

The components are simple, like crazy simple! While cream cheese isn’t on a classic caramel apple, it’s the perfect foundation for a dip. Next is a premade batch of caramel dip, and some baking pantry staples like powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla extract.

Start by whipping the cream cheese with the powdered sugar. Once smooth, add a pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla extract.

Once blended, you go and spread this into your serving tray.

Next is the best part — garnishes! I spread the caramel dipping sauce on top and then added my toppings.

Here, I mimicked the flavor combination of a chocolate-coated caramel apple and topped the Caramel Apple Dip with some chopped-up pieces of milk and white chocolate.

Don’t feel like you should be limited in toppings! You can also garnish the dip with toffee bits, chopped peanuts, or chocolate sprinkles.

With this dessert, it’ll be hard to resist, you’ll want to double dip. The creamy, slightly tangy cream cheese balances the salty-sweet flavors of the caramel and smooth, rich chocolate.