Love apple crisp? Try this fun twist on classic apple crisp, made in the skillet and topped with gooey caramel sauce! The best apple crisp you will ever taste this fall.
I love apples. Love ’em. I love them in pies, cookies, muffins, cakes, but I especially love them with caramel. Caramel apples are one of my favorite fall treats. Apple crisp is one of my top favorite fall treats. Combined with caramel? Ohhh have mercy…
Pumpkin pie and apple crisp are the two treats I most look forward to getting to make again in the fall. I love both of them so much, I’m not even sure which one is my favorite!
I’m not too fond of apple crisps with crunchy apples and dry, tasteless streusel toppings. Even whipped cream wouldn’t fix that mess.
What I DO like is an apple crisp with nice, soft cinnamon-spiced apples, a crunchy, buttery topping, and a huge pile of whipped cream crowning the entire thing. (Drizzling a nice-sized amount of caramel over the whole thing didn’t hurt either!) Apple crisp at it’s finest. And that is precisely what this perfect apple crisp is. It’s taking apple crisp to a whole other level.
I might have to invest in private dance lessons in los angeles to work off all this apple crisp. It’s that good.
So what do you have to do to get the finest apple crisp? It’s pretty simple, actually.
First, we’re going to prepare our topping: Flour, finely chopped pecans, old-fashioned rolled oats, coconut sugar, salt, and cinnamon all get tossed in a large bowl. Drizzle 1/2 cup melted butter over the whole thing and toss mixture with a fork until you get some moist crumbs. You can use your hands at this point to toss the crumbs around until you get nice-sized bits.
Okay, now you’re going to pre-cook your (peeled, cored, and 1/2 in sliced) apples (along with a bit of coconut sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon) in butter in your 12-in, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Now, you are not going to want to cook the apples entirely. Make sure you cook the apples until they’re golden brown and just slightly tender. This shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes.
Once your apples are partially cooked, pull out that crumb topping that you made earlier and generously sprinkle it all over your apples. Lightly press the crumbs with your hands, over the apples. Now it’s time to bake! Baking the apple crisp doesn’t take long at all. 25 minutes in a 400F degree oven is all the time you’ll need.
Yes! This apple crisp is made entirely in the skillet! No extra dishes to wash!
When your apple crisp is done, the topping should be lightly browned, the apple filling should be bubbling up underneath the topping, and your house should smell amazing.
You only have to cool your apple crisp about 10 minutes on a wire cooling rack. While it’s cooling, it’s time to prepare the finishing touch: The caramel. My easy, 5-minute caramel topping that calls or 3 ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons honey, 1/8 teaspoon salt. Simple, right?
You’re going to cook the butter and honey in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, until caramel is bubbly and turns a golden brown. Remove from the heat and stir in your salt. Drizzle that lovely caramel-y goodness over your apple crisp and let sit 5 minutes before digging in.
Your apple crisp should be slightly warm when you serve it—that’s the best way to enjoy it! And definitely serve hearty helpings with either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Both are suitable choices for this certain occasion 😉
My sister, Abby, who swears she hates apple crisp (I have no idea where she came from) was scraping her plate when I insisted that she at least try this apple crisp. She grudgingly admitted that it was “okay”.
Thanks so much, Abby….I on the other hand thought this apple crisp was better than okay. I thought it was phenomenal. So did the rest of my family who basically love anything sweet.
Skillet Caramel Apple Crisp
Ingredients
- TOPPING:
- 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
- 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- FILLING:
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- 7 medium apples peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/2 in wedges
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- CARAMEL:
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Whipped cream or ice cream for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the topping: In a large bowl, combine the flour, pecans, oats, coconut sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Pour melted butter over top. Toss mixture with a fork until fine crumbs form. Set aside while you prepare the filling.
- Prepare the filling: Toss apples, lemon juice, coconut sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl until combined. Set aside. Place butter in an oven-safe 12-in skillet. Melt over medium-high heat until bubbly. Add apple mixture to skillet. Cook apples in butter, stirring frequently until apples are golden brown and slightly softened (do not cook apples all the way through) Remove skillet from heat. Sprinkle evenly with prepared topping, lightly pressing over apples.
- Bake apple crisp at 400F 25 minutes, until golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire cooling rack, 10 minutes while you prepare the caramel.
- Prepare the caramel: In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring butter and honey to a boil, stirring constantly until caramel is thickened and golden-brown. Remove from heat and stir in salt.
- Drizzle caramel sauce over cooled apple crisp. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
Notes
Try these other great apple recipes!
(The most popular recipe on my blog!)
(You’ll never buy store-bought apple butter again!)
(Hands down the best way to enjoy apples + caramel + cookies!)
What’s your favorite way to enjoy apples?
Jennifer S. says
I think we’re going to have to try those caramel apple cookies and the crisp. They both look so good.
Sarah says
Let me know how the cookies and the crisp turn out, Jennifer!
Angel Burch (Things In My Head) says
OMG! Your blog should just be illegal LOL
Lisa Barton @ Vintage Celebrations says
Oh my Sarah this has got to stop!! I read your posts about half 8 at night and then get the munchies for whatever you’ve cooked! Not helping my drive to eat healthy (apart from the apples that is 😉 xx
Sarah says
Thanks for the sweet words Lisa! I’m so glad you like my recipes 🙂