One of my favorite entertaining recipes is my peanut butter dip with apple slices. I made it last night for a girl’s night and decided to share it with my readers on my blog.
Ingredients:
1 heaping cup peanut butter
1 jar marshmallow fluff
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
I put all the ingredients into my stand mixer and beat it together, it’s really that simple.
I put it in a pretty bowl and serve with a spoon, this stuff tastes amazing!
I almost always serve with fresh apple slices. Although, pretzels, graham cracker sticks and other yummy finger foods work well also. Now onto my apple slices… I learned this trick for slicing my apples ahead of time 9 years ago and use it all the time.
I slice my apples and put them straight into cold salty water! It’s that easy, I’m not a fan of what lemon juice does to the taste of my apple slices. So I love this method and use it all the time.
For instance last night I sliced my apples hours before my friends came over and they were still white and crisp without the sour lemon flavor. The salt isn’t enough to change the flavor usually I just add a teaspoon of salt to a large plastic storage container about 2/3 full of water and stir before adding slices.
Thanks for stopping by! 
Johanna
This was delicious!!
Yes it is! Honestly, I don’t like red apples because they’re too sweet for me, but this peanut butter dip is perfect for toning down that sweetness! I’m not sure how, considering the marshmallow fluff and cream cheese, but it works.
Peanut butter dips looks amazing!!! Even more excited about the apple trick!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Yummy
dips looks amazing=)
do you have to leave the apple slices in the water to keep them from browning?
I leave them in the salt water until I am just about ready to serve them. They stay pretty white throughout parties for several hours. I’ve never experimented with dunking and removing them to see how they do. I’ll have to try it. If you do let me know if it works the same
good
I do this all the time when I take snacks for the kids to church or school or where ever. I put them in the COLD salty water for a few minutes and take them out and pop them into a plastic bag to haul off for snack time. Then the kids aren’t “grossed out” because the apples turned brown! So in my experience they don’t need to be left in the water very long.
THANKS for the apple discussion! Very helpful
Sprite works equally well. An apple dip I make that’s always a hit: 1 package cream cheese mix in about 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Spread on serving dish. Coat with Carmel sundae topping. 4 Skor bars crushed sprinkled on top of Carmel. Delicious!
Just a heads up, this may make the apples less “healthy.” Many vitamins are water soluble, meaning that they dissolve in water and depending on how long the apples or carrots or whatever soak for, the longer the vitamins will “bleed” out.
Thanks!! I was wondering about that.
Yum! I toss my apples with pineapple juice. It still has the citric acid that keeps them from turning brown, but it’s not sour. I will have to give the saltwater method a try too.
sprite or diet sprite works for the apples.. this way salt does not go into them…. and just a little is all you need! any white soda will do…
I’ve heard this also, but salt and water I always have on hand. Not always do I have a white soda on hand
water and baking soda works too on apples ,bananas ,avocado,potatoes etc.
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ok…. for those worried about “healthy”… the dip has marshmallow creme and cream cheese… just sayin’
Thanks for sharing the salt/cold water secret! I, too, hate what lemon juice does to the taste of apples. I can’t wait to try it – again – thank you!
Does this not make the apples salty?
It doesn’t take a ton of salt and no in my experience the salty taste is minimal.
i left them overnight and they turned brown
so do i need to soak them for how long??? then take them out…because my boys don’t like the brown
I’ve never done overnight just a few hours in advance and sometimes just a thirty min soak the on to a tray for the night of a party.
Sprite works for longer periods of time, I’ve heard pineapple juice and orange juice too but I haven’t tried them yet. I put apple slices in a ziplock, fill with enough sprite to cover the apples, leave it for a few minutes, then drain it out. The apples keep in the ziplock in the fridge for a few days before starting to brown. Works for pear slices too!
I dip cut up apples in orange juice. Just a quick in and out, works perfectly for fruit salads, kids lunches etc., must be the citric acid.
Yes thank u for sharing..
Love the salt water idea. I always used lemon, until my grand-daughter saw me using it. That was the end of her apple snacks for school, as she wouldn’t eat them when they were turning brown and wouldn’t go the the lemon. I will definitely be trying that this week. Thank you for sharing!
Would kosher salt work? I wont do mine in sprite. I know salt probably takes away from the healthiness of the apples but dunking in a vat of high fructose corn syrup or even worse aspartame has got to be worse for the kiddos.
I think that would work fine!
How long do you soak them & do you stir them often during?
I usually just soak until needed on a platter or in a lunch. I only stir after dropping in all of the apples to make sure I separated the ones stuck together
Great!!!!!! Me encanta gracias
Great tip about the apples & the dip looks wonderful!
I wonder if the salt is truly necessary, or if just submerging them in cold water would be sufficient. They turn brown because the vitamin C on the cut surface oxidizes – but that process requires exposure to the air. So it could be that just keeping them submerged would keep them white. (That works for potatoes.)
I talked this over with a friend as well but when removed from water they begin to brown and removed from salt water they stay white longer
I usually do this for parties when I want them to stay white for a few hours.
Good to know! So if you cut them up for your kiddoes, and they learn to grab them straight out of the water and dip them, you can probably skip the salt. But for a party or something, the salt is a better option.
just tried pineapple juice (in a can, I hear fresh works even better and probably healthier) didn’t soak for long just a quick dunk, apples didn’t taste any different and they didn’t brown at party, put leftovers in plastic bag in refer we ate them for two days after that with minimal browning and they still kept crisp. I also used the pineapple juice at the party cause it had only the apples dunked in it and people drank it…nothing wasted!
My grandma has done this for as long as I can remember; and I do it now for my family. We let the apple slices soak for about 5 minutes and then give them a good rinse with clean, cold water. This washes off that slimy feeling left behind by the salt water. They stay beautiful and crisp
Can’t thank you enough for the apple tip. Browning has prevented me from using apples as often as I’d like! And now I cant wait to try this yummy dip, too. You’re my hero.
I cut mine up and put them in a bowl with watered-down apple juice; stay white for 2-3 days at least.
That is so smart
You should try FruitFresh. It’s a sprinkle that you can find in the seasoning isle at your local grocery store. It only takes a light sprinkle to keep the brown away and is not as tart as lemon juice. I actually like the bit of tart that it gives to sweet apples. Then you can store sliced apples in serving sized containers ready to enjoy.
How many ozs. is the “fluff” jar?
7 ounces
does anyone know if “lowsalt” works just as well as regular salt??
This sounds yummy!! I’ve always made this dip with just the cream cheese & marshmallow creme, but will have to try it with peanut butter too.
Can you make the dip a day ahead?
Sure! I would just let it come to room temp before using it though, the cold dip is harder.
Is it possible to make it the day before, and refrigerate it, or should it be made the day you use it? (the dip)
Yep, I would just let come back to room temp before using it or it will be stiff.
I use diet white soda works super easy
I use pineapple juice. Then I serve the chunk pineapple along side the apples for dipping with the fruit dip.
I use vinegar & water. I used to use lemon juice, but my son is allergic to citrus fruits. I use about a tsp of vinegar in cup of water. Or, you can use apple cider – that works really well for apple sauce (about 1/2 c poured over a big pot of apples) to keep it grocery-store-yellow. Acid and dehydration (which salt does) inhibit the apple’s ability to absorb oxygen, and therefore it slows the browning.
Thanks for the great tip! I see by your salt that you go to Aldi….don’t you love it! I bet you got your apples there, the produce is amazing and the best price in town.
Yep! I love their low prices and great products!
my grandma always soaked apples in the salt water.
I also learned later in life when we won’t eat the apples if they browned she would put them in a sauce pan sprinkle with cinnamon and a little brown sugar and tell us we were eating chunky apple sauce. no wasted apples.
For Kids Lunches buy smaller apples, slice the apple and place a rubber band around apple to hold slices together in place. It wont turn brown at all. OR try a Ginger Ale and lemon juice soak for about 5 minutes, works beautiful.
When I was growing up, my mom did the same thing with potatoes, but I never thought about doing the same with apples! I will remember this!
Any lemon/lime soda (7up, sprite, etc.)
will work without leaving the strong lemon flavor.
I just want to say Thank You.
wow that was a great discussion on what to do to apples to keep them from browning. great ideas ladies. thanks
Wow, I just discovered the peanut butter / cream cheese / marshmallow wonder by accident about a week ago. I often will mix small amounts of natural PB + stevia (no sugar in natural) + neufchatel cheese for a low carb breakfast. I ran out of stevia and substituted a coconut covered marshmallow I found in the back of the cupboard to add some sweetness and it was *amazing*. Anyway, just a “+1″ for the recipe! I should try it as a dip…
How long do you soak them for befor you store them. I would like make snack bags of apples ahead of time for the kids lunches. Thanks.
Just a few minutes will do. I usually do for about 10 minutes before bagging.