The apple season is upon us! I told you a few weeks ago, that I had been baking and had made Homemade Applesauce and a Caramel Apple Crisp. Today I want to share both of those recipes with you.
It may sound hard, but it couldn’t be any easier. It is such a simple process that I don’t even measure anything. All that you need are apples, water, and a pan. I used sweet apples instead of a tart apples. I used about 17 small apples and ended up with approximately 7 cups of apple sauce. I started by washing, peeling, and coring the apples. Then I cut them in chunks that were approximately the same size. Then put them in a pan with a little water. I used about an inch of water in a large saucepan. The water is to keep them from scorching, because once they are you have ruined the whole batch. Cook them on medium heat until boiling. Stirring frequently to keep from burning. Once they are tender, mash them into smaller pieces. If you want a very smooth texture you can put them in a food processor or blender. We like ours chunky so we just mash. Then you are done!
Once it has cooled slightly it is a very good treat served warm. But we put ours in a Tupperware container and keep in the refrigerator or freeze until we are ready for it. Homemade applesauce is wonderful baby food but enjoyable for all ages. Jonah likes his with a sprinkle of cinnamon with lunch or for breakfast he likes it mixed in with his oatmeal. It adds flavor and nutritional value to the oatmeal, but also works great at cooling it down!
Now for the Caramel Apple Crisp…
I actually found a few recipes for this and after some changing and experimenting I think that I came up with a wonderful final product that my family LOVES!!
Ingredients
Filling
-5 large GRANNY SMITH APPLES, about 5 cups – peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
-1/2 cup SUGAR
-1 Tbl INSTANT VANILLA PUDDING MIX
-1 Tbl CINNAMON
-2 Tbl LEMON JUICE
-1/4 cup APPLE JUICE or CIDER
Caramel Sauce
-1 cup SUGAR
-6 Tbl BUTTER, cold and cubed
-1/2 tsp COARSE SALT
-1/2 tsp PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
-1/2 cup HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM
Crust
-1 small box INSTANT VANILLA PUDDING, use remainder from filling
-1/2 cup FLOUR
-1 cup BROWN SUGAR
-1 cup OATS
-1 cup BUTTER, softened and cut into pats
Directions
In a medium bowl, mix all of the filling ingredients except the apples. As you cut the apples, add them to the mixture. Leave them to marinate while you prepare the rest of the layers. Stir occasionally.
To make the caramel sauce, heat 1 cup sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until melted and brown at the edges, about 3 minutes. Pull the sugar towards the center until all the sugar is melted and a deep amber color, about 3 more minutes. Whisk in butter, salt, and vanilla. It will bubble. Whisk in heavy whipping cream until smooth. Remove from heat.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix all of the crust ingredients until everything is moist and slightly crumbly.
Grease a 9×9 baking pan and begin the layering process! Start by spooning in the apples and a little of the juice (I don’t like to pour all of the juice in because I think it makes the finished product too runny). Then pour about 1/2 of the caramel sauce on the apples. Finish by evenly layering all of the crust on the top. Bake for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool before eating as it will be VERY hot.
We like to enjoy ours with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some of the remaining caramel sauce. Enjoy the flavors of fall!
This post is linked to Sharing Sundays
