Easy "Caramel" Dessert Topping (Gluten, Corn, Soy, Peanut, Refined Sugar Free, Dairy Free Option). No Cooking Involved!

Okay, I guess I lied a LITTLE with the title because you will have to melt butter and/or butter alternative spread.

So, when I was concocting a gluten and oat free granola bar recipe yesterday I started with about four different recipes that I started to combine in different ways to get my "binder" where I wanted it to be.  Sounds odd, yes, but that's usually where I start my brainstorming sessions when it comes to cooking and baking.

Anyway, with the third try I mixed ingredients together in a bowl and the binder ended up looking at this...

Looks sort of like caramel sauce doesn't it?  I then tasted it.  And darned if it didn't taste darn CLOSE to caramel sauce too.  And the best part is that it doesn't take a good hour cooking on your stove to get it to this consistency and it's not pure sugar.  Those are both bonuses in my book.

My husband likens the taste to a "sort of butterscotch flavor, but I don't like butterscotch and I like this sauce, so it doesn't taste too much like butterscotch" (yes, it made me look sort of confused too *laugh*).  To ME it tastes almost like the caramel dessert sauce you buy to pour on ice cream...you know the one that as soon as a corn allergy breathes in your general direction you immediately throw in the garbage never again to enter your house when you realize how much other stuff they add to that stuff BESIDES corn.

You can, by the way, use coconut oil with this, but I have to say that it doesn't really work very well.  I tried it with several different amounts and I put the one that works the best as the "if you use coconut oil alternative" but I really found with the coconut oil you can not only taste the coconut oil, but you can also taste the other flavors as well.  I honestly don't know if you'd be able to taste it if you ate coconut oil all the time, but I don't so I could taste it.  If you can do it I'd go with Earth Balance or some other "buttery" tasting alternative.

So, here you go folks!  A really SUPER simple dessert topping you can throw together in three minutes flat.  If you store this in your fridge, by the way, it'll solidify so be sure to microwave it for about 10 seconds when you pull it out of the fridge to get it back to dessert topping" consistency.

Super Easy "Caramel" Dessert Topping  (Gluten, Corn, Soy, Peanut, Refined Sugar Free with Dairy Free Option)

• 1/3 cup almond butter (I use Barney Butter, it's peanut free and soy free)
• 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 6 TBS melted butter, butter alternative spread (such as Earth Balance) or coconut oil (if using coconut oil reduce amount to 4 TBS)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (at LEAST grade B please)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk well to combine.  And serve!

Taaaddaaaa! We've been enjoying ours with apple slices dipped in it.  And my daughter *leans in close* doesn't know she's eating nut butter!  Bwahahahhahahaha!!!

Ahem.  Anyway folks, I hope some of you out there can use this and that it'll help getting some nutrition down your kids a bit easier :).

Enjoy!