Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe- Paleo, Raw, Fat Free, Dairy Free, Vegan Option

I wish there was a way to take a picture of something like this without it looking like poop. :-D

I have to say that I am really excited about a recipe- tonight we're having our annual family shebang, and I'm doing the cooking for the entire thing. My challenge was- keep the costs low, keep the work minimal, make it all healthy, and make it taste good so that everyone could see just how delicious healthy eating could be.
Dessert planned- paleo cheesecake bar with salted caramel topping- because it sounded so absolutely delicious and I wanted to wow everyone there with the perfection that is paleo cheesecake.
I found a recipe for it, which was my inspiration, but the problem is that it called for ingredients I didn't have or couldn't use or whatever, so I put different recipes together to make this masterpiece.
For the sake of being able to find all the components when you want them, I am writing the recipe in parts- first this caramel sauce which can be used however you generally serve any caramel sauce- whether on brownies, inside chocolates, on ice cream or baked apples, or in this case, on top of the delicious cheesecake.
When I asked my husband to taste it, because I like to get a second opinion on recipes before I post them on my blog, my husband said he could eat the entire thing of sauce right there and then, and my kids agreed- it is extremely delicious.
This recipe is good for anyone unless they're on a low carb diet, because this certainly has carbs. But it is paleo, raw vegan, fat free, GAPS legal, etc... I didn't use medjool dates for this (I was out) so I used less sweet dates, which is why I added a drop of honey to it. If your sauce isn't sweet enough because you also aren't using medjool dates, and you want it vegan, feel free to add whatever other sweetener you use, but if you're using medjool dates you really have no need for any other sweetener.

Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe- Paleo, Raw, Fat Free, Dairy Free, Vegan Option

Ingredients:
1 cup pitted dates- because my dates are small I needed 15 for this, but if yours are bigger, use less
1/2 cup water
1 pinch ground vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon honey or other sweetener if needed

Instructions:
1. Put your dates in a food processor and try to process. It'll be a little difficult, so scrape down the sides.

2. After about a minute or so of blending the dates, add part of the water- about 1/4 cup or less, then blend again for a few minutes until it is as smooth as you can get it.

3. Scrape down the sides, and add the rest of the water, blending it until it is super smooth.

4. Add vanilla, salt, and honey or other sweetener as needed.

5. Eat however you enjoy! This is thick enough that you should be able to pipe it onto things like I did with this paleo cheesecake!

Are you a fan of caramel? What is your favorite way to eat it?
Have you ever made a homemade healthy caramel? What was in it? Got any other recipes for dairy free caramel that aren't made with processed foods?
Does this look like a recipe you'd try?