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Gooey caramel whipped together with cream cheese, powdered sugar, and butter is guaranteed to taste delicious. Top it with some pecans for extra texture, and dip away with your favorite fruit, graham crackers, or even vanilla wafers! This can easily be a simple dessert to share with a crowd, or even as an appetizer. It is also a very portable dish that can be made in advance, and brought to share at an event or potluck. I love this dip as an alternative to making an entire cheesecake; which is much more time consuming and requires baking. Plus, it’s so much more fun to dip fruit into a bowl of cheesecake dip!
I wanted to make this dip a simple no bake dessert. As we approach the warmer weather, it’s so nice to have chilled and easy dishes to satisfy the sweet tooth. We had company visiting us from out of town over the weekend, and enjoyed some very spring like 75 degree weather in the middle of winter! This dip was perfect for all the kids to enjoy outside. However, I am also thinking if you’re craving something warm and even more gooey, you could easily pop this dish into the oven for 15 – 20 minutes.
I made a simple homemade caramel sauce to swirl inside this cheesecake dip. I actually find it to be super easy, and better tasting. My method is to heat sugar and water for around 15 minutes over medium heat until the mixture turns the nice caramel color. I then remove from heat, and add in 1/2 cup heavy cream. To take a shortcut, you could buy your own favorite caramel sauce. As you fold your warm ooey gooey caramel into the cream cheese mixture, the dip will soften up a good amount with the heat. Once mixing, it’s best to refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. As I mentioned earlier, go ahead and make this dish earlier in the day to save time! Set it out to room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.
INGREDIENTS
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 stick butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 2 apples, sliced to serve
- Graham crackers or vanilla wafers to serve
DIRECTIONS
- Using an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar. Slowly add in salt and vanilla extract. Beat until creamy and smooth.
- Now make your caramel (alternatively, use 3/4 cup store bought caramel). Add granulated sugar, and water to a saucepan. Heat over medium heat for about 15 minutes (swirling not stirring), and be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn. The sugar should begin to thicken and turn into a caramel color. Remove from heat, stir in heavy cream.
- Pour caramel into cheesecake mixture. Continue to stir until well combined, top with pecans.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Let sit for at least 10 mins at room temperature.
- Serve with apples, other fruit, graham crackers, pretzels or vanilla wafers.
