Caramel Apple Crisp

Ingredients

Apple Crisp
• 4-1/2 cups peeled, cored and sliced Granny Smith apples (about 5 medium apples)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• pinch of ground cloves
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 4 tablespoons butter
• Caramel sauce (store bought or the recipe below)
Caramel Sauce
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cups milk (I used skim)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (optional - if you want chocolate caramel sauce)

Instructions

Apple Crisp

Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly grease a medium casserole dish.

In a small bowl mix apples with the water and lemon juice. Let stand for a few minutes, then drain off any extra liquid.

Spread the apples evenly in the bottom of the prepared prepared dish. Drizzle the honey over the apples, and sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ground cloves.

In a bowl use your hands to mix the brown sugar, flour, oats, and butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Spread over the apple mixture. (Note: this makes a lot of crumb topping. It can easily be cut in half if you don't want as much.)

Drizzle caramel sauce over the crumb topping, as much or as little as you want.

Bake 30-40 minutes, until the apples are tender and topping is lightly browned. Serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce drizzled on top.

Caramel Sauce

In a small saucepan mix butter, brown sugar, milk, and salt over medium low heat. While whisking constantly, cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the sauce has thickened . Add the vanilla and cook, while whisking, for another minute to thicken further. If you are making chocolate caramel sauce, add in the cocoa powder and whisk until combined. Turn off heat and pour sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold.

Caramel Sauce is adapted from The Pioneer Woman