Creamy Cinnamon Apple & Walnut Fruit Salad

This salad is SO good.  We had this when everyone was here for Christmas and it was a hit with everyone who tried it.  The original recipe recommends letting the apples soak in  lemon water to prevent browning while you chop them, but I don't think that's necessary.  I just added the diced apples to the dressing and it was fine.

Creamy Cinnamon Apple and Walnut Fruit Salad

The perfect autumn fruit salad! It's loaded with crisp, sweet apples, cranberries and walnuts and covered in a rich, cinnamon cream cheese dressing. What's not to love?

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Apple Fruit Salad

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 247 kcal

Author: Jaclyn

Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz) pkg. Neufchatel cheese, softened slightly (light cream cheese)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 (8 oz) pkg. light sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 lbs crisp, sweet apples, chilled (I used a combo of Gala, Jazz and Golden Delicious)
• 1 cup chopped Fishers Walnuts
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, whip together Neufchatel cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2.  Add sour cream and vanilla and blend until combined. 
3. Dice apples into cubes, adding them into the bowl of dressing as  you go.
4. Add the walnuts and cranberries and stir to coat evenly.  
5. Keep chilled and serve within an hour for best results*.

Recipe Notes

• *The dressing can be made a day in advance just don't cut the apples until you're almost ready to serve this. Also, it makes a big batch so if you aren't serving that many you can cut the recipe in half.

Recipe altered slightly from cookingclassy.com