The Pioneer Woman Tasty Kitchen
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Skillet Caramel Apple Crisp

5.00 Mitt(s) 3 Rating(s)3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 53 votes, average: 5.00 out of 53 votes, average: 5.00 out of 53 votes, average: 5.00 out of 53 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5

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Level: Easy

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Description

Something about cooking dessert in a skillet makes it feel even more cozy and homemade, like Little House on the Prairie or something. This one’s got all the good stuff: fall apples covered with rich caramel and a buttery crunch topping.

Ingredients

  • FOR THE TOPPING:
  • 1-¾ cup Flour
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon (be Generous)
  • ½ teaspoons Salt
  • ¼ teaspoons Ground Allspice
  • 1 whole Generous Grating Of Fresh Nutmeg
  • 1 cup Butter, Dice The Sticks
  • FOR THE CARAMEL APPLES:
  • 1 whole Lemon, Juiced, Divided Use
  • 3 pounds Crisp-tart Apples, Preferably A Variety Of Types
  • ¾ cups Sugar
  • 6 Tablespoons Butter, Slice The Stick Into Tablespoon Sized Slices
  • ½ teaspoons Salt

Preparation

This delicious dessert is my personal mash-up of two recipes…one from Cooks Illustrated and another from Bon Appetit magazine. It takes apple crisp to a whole new level of decadence, without a whole lot of extra work!

To make the topping, combine all of the ‘topping’ ingredients except the butter in a mixing bowl or in a food processor. Whisk or pulse to combine. Using a pastry cutter, or the food processor, incorporate the butter until the mixture is crumbly and moist clumps form. If you are a traditionalist, you can add 1/2 cup of oats and/or 1/2 cup of toasted pecans or walnuts at this point Personally, I like mine without. Set topping aside, and preheat the oven to 375F.

Prepare the apples: Squeeze the juice from 1/2 of the lemon into a large bowl, and put the apples in there as you peel, core and slice them, stirring so they are coated lightly with the lemon juice as you add more apples. This will keep them from turning brown. Set the apples aside.

In a large (9 1/2 to 10 inch) cast iron skillet (or regular skillet, if you don’t have a cast iron one), stir the sugar and the butter over medium heat until a smooth sauce forms. Add the juice from the other half of the lemon and the salt to the skillet. Keep stirring gently until the sauce has gone from creamy beige to a light golden brown. Add the apples and the juice from the bowl they were sitting in, and stir to coat the apples well. Cook the apples for about 3-4 minutes, stirring from time to time. Remove from the heat.

If you are using a cast iron skillet, crumble the topping directly onto the apples in the skillet. Otherwise, turn the apples into a 13 x 9 or large oval baking dish, and then crumble the topping over them.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until you can see golden brown caramel bubbling up through the topping. If you are not using a skillet, add about 5 more minutes to the baking time.

Allow the crisp to cool for about 10 minutes, then serve warm with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

One Comment

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Tammy Cox on 10.28.2013

Super easy and Yummy!

3 Reviews

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Louise on 11.2.2012

This was super easy to make and my family loves it!

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greeleygirl on 11.8.2011

Super yum! I talked myself into making this for breakfast for my family. Added in the oats and nuts to try and make it a bit more like breakfast material. I also cut the butter in the topping by about 3 TBL. This is a super good crisp. The caramel sauce gives it a fantastically rich taste. We had it with a little cream poured on, and it was absolutely decadent. Probably fits more in a dessert category, but it was a nice treat on a chilly fall morning!

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darcypatch on 11.6.2011

This was great. The whole family loved it! I added a tiny bit of vanilla to the sauce. The dish was very rich and full of flavor. Nice job!

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