Gone Too Long & Samoa Apples

Hello Friends!  Apologies for being gone for so long, but I spent the last year moving from NY to NC and then renting from friends.  Given the limited amount of space, and living out of boxes and a storage unit, I am sorry to say my inspiration to cook went out the window for a while.  I'm back now and I bring to you the Gluten Free equivalent of the Samoa Girl Scout Cookie... in apple form.

So, before I developed Celiac Disease, I was a lover of Girl Scout Cookies.  Especially Samoas.  Those things were my absolute favorite.  So much so, that on the day of delivery, I would eat an entire box of Samoas in one sitting... on purpose... because they were just too good.  Now with Celiac, I am limited to the Girl Scout Trios cookies, which are peanut butter, oatmeal and chocolate chip.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good chocolate chip cookie, but I miss Samoas, so when a video popped on on Facebook about Samoa Apples, I had to try it out.

I googled the recipe for Samoa Apples and noticed it called for Caramel Sauce.  I have not been able to find one that is Gluten Free, so I looked up a recipe I could make myself.

This Easy Caramel Sauce (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/easy-caramel-sauce-recipe.html) is a great one.  I followed it to the letter, making sure I used McCormick Vanilla Extract (as theirs is GF, whereas some are not).  Also be sure that you're not using shared butter.  You don't want to get cross contamination if you have non-GF family members.

The recipe made the exact amount of Caramel Sauce called for in the Samoa Apples recipe.  While the Caramel Sauce was in the fridge cooling, I got to prepping my cooking area for making the apples.  Below is the recipe, but you can do all of your measuring and prepping and a lot of cleanup to keep your cooking area clean, and then all you have are a few bowls.

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Samoa Apples

Ingredients:
3 Granny Smith apples
1 cup of caramel sauce
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup Enjoy Life Allergy Friendly semisweet chocolate mega chunks
3 tbsp. butter

Slice the apples into 1/4"-thick slices.  I used a mandolin to ensure even cuts. Use a small biscuit cutter or melon baller to remove the core from the apples. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix caramel sauce and coconut flakes, stirring to combine. Spoon caramel-coconut mixture on each apple slice.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chunks and butter. Microwave in 30-second intervals (only took me 3), whisking in between, until fully melted. Use the whisk to drizzle (a.k.a. splatter paint) the melted chocolate on the apple slices and serve.

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And here is the finished product.  Messy, but delicious!