Caramel Apple Crisp

Caramel Apple Crisp - made December 21, 2013 from Hil's Blog

I bake so much during the holidays that you'd think I'm stuffed full of desserts at any given moment. Alas, all I make is usually for everyone else. It isn't uncommon for me to bake for hours on end and when my kitchen is full of the fruits of my labor, I wonder why I'm hungry. It's usually because I'm so focused on baking everything and getting it packaged up to give away that I don't take a break to eat. That may sound odd when I'm literally surrounded by baked goods but I don't lick the bowl or snitch cookie dough and if I'm making a recipe I've tried already, I don't bother to taste the finished product.  If I'm trying out a new recipe, I'll only cut myself a sliver to see how it turned out and if it's okay to give away. Otherwise, I need every piece of brownie, every slice of cake and every cookie for my gift packages so not much of it ends up in my stomach (this answers the question I always get during the holidays: "why don't you weigh 300 pounds?"). Because I don't eat much of what I make. Cue world's tiniest violin.

So it's nice to indulge in my own personal dessert for my consumption. Which is what this apple crisp was. The recipe makes 2 servings but I only needed one so I made half of it, using a small Granny Smith apple. I put it in a small ramekin so I ended up with a little too much topping. But this was still very good, especially on a cold winter night, still warm (but not hot) and topped with vanilla ice cream. Apple cobbler/crisp is one of my favorite winter desserts. The main difference between this one and my standard apple cobbler recipe is there are oats in the topping as well as caramel sauce over the apples, underneath the crumb topping. I don't think the caramel sauce added anything significantly different to the crisp so if you want it less sweet or are saving on calories, you can leave it out. Either way, this was a nice indulgence.

2 medium apples, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons quick-cooking oats
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 to 2 heaping tablespoons Butterscotch Caramel Topping
Ice Cream (optional)

1. Place apple slices in two small, greased ramekins.  Spoon Butterscotch Caramel topping over the apples.  In a bowl, combine flour and brown sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add oats and cinnamon.  Sprinkle over apple slices and caramel.
2. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until tender. Serve with ice cream if desired.