recipe challenge: help me devise raw caramel dipping sauce

[kiropa]

you know, the creamy/sticky rich kind for dipping apples in (often found in the Fall).

i think dates have a caramel essence -- but i have no idea what to do to get a rich, thick sauce. can anyone help?

[RawKnitster]

I don't suppose you have any lucuma on hand? I think it is a dried, powdered, root from Peru. It has a distinct carmel flavor. It has a very slight grainy texture that might turn some off, but I like it. (Google it. It is the #1 flavor for ice cream in Peru.)

I might try blending or processing dates (soaked 20 minutes) with agave or honey, vanilla, and a pinch of salt, and maybe a little of the soaking water.

I've also seen this recipe: Blend 1 cup agave with 1/4 t. salt and 1/4 t. cinnamon in Vita-Mix for 20 seconds. Chill in freezer for 2 hours.

[Fee]

I have made a caramel sauce from Jennifer Cornbleet's new book. It uses cashew nut butter, date syrup and agave. First time I hadnt bothered to make date syrup so just used well soaked dates, this time I didn't have any nut butter so I just processed about twice as much voulme wise of nuts before starting. I think it is roughly equal equntities of each ingredient and it tastes lovely with bananas or just out of the jar! Hope this helps.

[Dimond]

Caramel:
1 cup Walnuts
1 cup Dates
½ tsp Vanilla

[kiropa]

Thanks all! Will try and let you know my outcome :)

[Stina]

Just dug this up because I'm having a hard time biting into apples and thought I'd like to dress them up with a sauce. All of these recipes look divine.

[RawKnitster]

medjool dates blended with enough almond milk to make a thick paste. Optional: vanilla and salt.