Thursday, July 10, 2014

Apple Surprise Snickers Salad

I once had a lovely babysitter named Jenny. My sister and I adored her. We played dress up and baked cookies and she always made us a special treat she called Apple Surprise. This consisted of a granny smith apple, cored and split in half, its crevices filled with peanut butter and our treat of choice. Sometimes this meant chocolate chips, and other times leftover halloween candy-M&Ms, Twix bars or Reese's cups. Then she squashed it all together and we took big bites with pure delight.



There was no specific recipe for Apple Surprise-I'm sure Jenny just thought of it out of the blue. Likewise, this trifle was a beautiful accident. I started off making a quick and easy caramel apple salad for a cookout. Turned out, it tasted great, but looked less than appetizing. In fact, it looked exactly like potato salad. All of its beautiful dessert components were enveloped in cream! So I took an extra 5 minutes to turn it into a trifle and BAM-we were ready for the barbecue.



Unlike many traditional trifles that end up mushy, this one has distinct components that while complementing each other, really shine on their own. The chunks of tart apples are a fun contrast to the chewy, peanutty Snickers bars. And the sweet whipped cream and syrupy caramel bring it all together. This was the quickest, easiest trifle I've ever made. 



Ingredients
  • 6 king size Snickers Candy Bars (or an equal amount of minis)
  • 5 apples (I like granny smith)
  • 1 5.1 oz package vanilla instant pudding mix (dry)
  • ½ cup cold milk
  • 1 16 oz tub cool whip (thawed)
  • caramel sauce
  • 1 cup chocolate or peanut butter chips (optional)

Whisk vanilla pudding mix, milk and cool whip together until well combined. Chop apples and snickers into bite size pieces. Stir about ¾ of the chopped apples and snickers into pudding mixture.


Assemble trifle, starting with cool whip mixture, followed by a drizzling of caramel sauce and a sprinkling of chips. Repeat once more. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving, if possible.

2 comments:

  1. Wow that looks like heaven, gotta give this a go. Thanks for posting this.

    Simon

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  2. Wash, quarter and core apples. Slice and cut slices into small pieces. Cut Snickers into small pieces. Add to bowl. Add half of Cool Whip to bowl and mix. Serve immediately. Note: If making ahead, toss apples with a scant tablespoon of lemon juice or Sweet Coffees, before adding other ingredients.

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