The 3-Ingredient Snack That Turns Your Favorite Apple Into A No-Bake Dessert

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Apples and peanut butter are a classic afternoon snack, but there's a hack going around online that transforms the pairing into something closer to the magic of a Watergate salad. Online creators have been showing off a quick and easy snack made with raw apples, peanut butter, and Cool Whip – and they say the treat has their house in "a chokehold." 

@sophiainpgh

I don't even remember where I saw this but now we make it daily. 🍎 Apples. Peanut butter. Cool Whip. Shake. 🫨 #apples #desserts #applerecipes #girldinner

♬ Warm Bread, Gentle Silence – Little Joys

Instead of plating sliced apples with peanut butter for dipping, this hack creates apple slices that are coated in a whipped cream and peanut butter combo, creating a dessert with plenty of contrasting elements. It has everything; sweet and tart flavors as well as crunchy and smooth textures. To make it, you don't have to be anywhere near an oven.

Apples make up the base of this snack, so choose your favorite variety and slice one into a container with a lid. Use either a paring knife or a mandoline slicer to cut the apple into wedges or rounds. Add a heaping spoonful of peanut butter (here's our peanut butter ranking, worst to best) and another large spoonful of Cool Whip. Secure the lid and give that container a good shake until everything is coated. Enjoy it straight out of the container or portion it out into bowls for a refreshing, easy dessert for yourself or guests.

The type of apples you choose will direct the basic flavor of this dessert, especially since they range in flavor from truly sour to cotton candy sweet. Honeycrisp, Braeburn, and Golden Delicious apples are great choices if you want something in the middle of that flavor spectrum with a balance of sweet and tartness. If you love a sour apple, choose a Granny Smith or a King David variety. Opt for Fuji, Gala, and Ambrosia apples if you're looking for something on the sweeter side.

Apples, Cool Whip, and peanut butter are an excellent combination on their own, but there are many different twists you can put on this dessert. One online creator adds a spoonful of Greek yogurt (Fage is our favorite Greek yogurt brand, by the way) and a chopped Snickers candy bar, inspiring others to add other chocolate bars like Twix or Heath to the mix. Others add spices to the dressing mixture, like cinnamon, to infuse more flavor without using a whole candy bar. Jet puffed marshmallow cream and other types of marshmallow fluff are also popular. They lighten up the texture of the dessert a bit and add more sweetness and a creamier texture.