Her Modern Kitchen

Eating & Living in Austin, Texas

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Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp for Two

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Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp is full of juicy apples, sweet-salty caramel, Fall spices, and a crisp, nutty, pecan filled topping. It’s your personal serving of Autumn in a bowl!

Is salted caramel still a thing? Does the food-o-sphere still crave it? If not, then this recipe for Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp is sure to turn that around.

I kid you not.

This recipe is full of juicy apples, sweet-salty caramel, Fall spices, and a crisp, nutty, pecan filled topping. It’s your personal serving of Autumn in a bowl, all featuring salted caramel and perfectly portioned for two to enjoy!

Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp

Growing up in New York State, I ate a lot of apples. And this time of year always has me craving apples. But the apples I get here in Texas just can’t measure up the apples from my home state.

New York simply produces the best, tastiest apples. There are even week-long events all across the state celebrating the Fall apple season and apple picking is an Autumn family tradition in almost every New York family. Heck, New York is even called The Big Apple.  They’re crazy about their apples.

My love for NEW YORK apples is so great that last year, when a friend of mine was visiting from New York she brought my a peck of apples (yes, that’s a thing) when she came to visit Austin. Because, yea, New York State apples are that good. Nothing compares.

Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp, spoon

Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp

My inspiration for Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp came from my love of apples as well as the love of my Mom’s Dutch Apple Pie — a traditional apple pie topped with an apple-crisp like topping. It’s a pie I grew up eating and really miss once the cooler Fall weather hits.

Although I love my Mom’s apple pie, I hate making pie crust and definitely didn’t want a whole pie on hand, so I modified Mom’s crumb topping recipe to perfectly fit a two-person serving size and nixed the pie crust, thusly landing on an apple crisp dish!

Since I’m also a big fan of texture and crunch, I threw it a few tablespoons of oats and chopped pecans to round out the Fall flavors and add some depth to the Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp.

Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp 3

Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp

As I moved on to make the apple filling, I realized I was out of brown sugar which is traditionally used when assembling apple fillings. I decided to substitute the caramel sauce I had on hand — adding a pinch of salt to bring in the salty-sweet flavors I typically crave.

Best. Decision. Ever.

When baked, the caramel sauce mixes with the juice of the apples, creating a deliciously sweet syrup. The apples bake themselves in the syrup while the crumb topping turns golden brown and crisp. The nuts in the topping toast as they bake in the oven, adding an extra nutty, warm flavor to the Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp.

To finish this dish, I served it warm with an extra drizzle of caramel sauce and a pinch of course sea salt. If I had a little vanilla ice cream on hand, you can bet there’d be a smidgen melting on top!

Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp for Two

This dessert was perfectly fit to round out a comforting Sunday dinner. My only regret is that this recipe only made 2 and I had to share the second Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp with <3M. Next time, I’m doubling this recipe so I’m ensured leftovers for later in the week.

Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp - Pinterest

If you’re looking for other salted caramel recipes, my Salted Caramel Bananas Foster Cake is also perfect for the Fall and brings a dose of salty-sweet flavors!

4.5 from 2 reviews
Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp for Two
 
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Salted Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp is full of juicy apples, sweet-salty caramel, Fall spices, and a crisp, nutty, pecan filled topping. It's your personal serving of Autumn in a bowl!
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 large baking apple, peeled and sliced into ½ pieces
  • 2 tablespoons caramel sauce
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3 tablespoons rolled oats
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon course sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
  • additional caramel sauce for serving, optional
  • additional course sea salt for serving, optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375*
  2. Lightly coat 2 small baking dishes (about 4-5 inches in diameter and ½-1 inch deep) with non-stick spray or butter
  3. Places the prepared baking dishes on a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper*
  4. In a small bowl, toss together the apple slices, caramel sauce, and spices until the apples are fully coated in the caramel & spice mixture
  5. Split the apples between the two prepared baking dishes
  6. In a medium size bowl, mix together the rolled oats, flour, sugar, and sea salt
  7. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly
  8. Gently fold in the pecans
  9. Split the topping between the two baking dishes, lightly mounding and packing the topping in place
  10. Bake the crisp on the prepared baking sheet for 20-25 minutes until a knife is easily inserted into the apples, indicating their level of doneness
  11. Let the crisp cool for 10-15 minutes before serving
  12. Top with additional caramel sauce, a pinch of sea salt or ice cream as desired
Notes
* In case the crisp boils over, this will protect your oven from becoming a sticky mess

 

 

Apple Pie Smoothie

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Apple Pie is an iconic American dessert.  And in my family, it was a regular.  I have quite a few childhood memories that include making and eating apple pie with my family. It was always around for holidays, made every year for my Dad’s birthday [because it was his favorite], and was enjoyed after most Sunday night dinners.

Making the pies, at least when I was younger, was a family affair.  I remember my Dad sitting at our kitchen table running apples through a hand-cranked apple peeler and watching the thin strips of skin drop to the floor.  These were my apple strings were favorite part, I always loved eating the long ropes of apple skin while watching him crank away.

While Dad was peeling the apples, my Mom would begin making the homemade pie crust using her Mom’s recipe [obviously, because in our family, we just don’t do store-bought pie crust].  I remember her carefully rolling out the dough so it wouldn’t tear and crimping it perfectly around the edge of the pie pan, creating perfect edges with ease.  Once the apples were peeled and cut, she’d mix the apples in with the sugar and cinnamon and pile them high into the crust, neatly topping everything with a buttery-rich crumb topping.  In our family, crumb topping was the only way to enjoy apple pie.  Not only did you NOT have to roll out two pie crusts but you got that extra crunch & warmth from the topping that made eating apple pie that much more comforting.

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My mom would bake the apple pie an hour or so before dinner so by the time our meal was complete, we’d be able to enjoy warm apple pie – which is the only way an apple pie should be enjoyed, warm & fresh out of the oven.  In fact, my Aunt Val didn’t even realize apple pie was served cold until she was in her 20’s.  Some may say she was considered spoiled but I’d save she was privileges for never having to eat cold apple pie [yuck!]

Most people love enjoying a slice of apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream, and in my family, we enjoyed that once in a while but our standard was to accompany apple pie was with a few slices of sharp cheddar cheese on the side.  It might sound strange, maybe even a bit “Polak” but apples & cheese are a common pair and the creaminess of the cheese and its slight bite paired perfectly with the sweet-tartness of the apple pie.  My Grandma Hellert would be the to initially make the cheese request and at times, she’d simply show up with blocks of cheese whenever she knew apple pie was on the menu.

Although I have fond memories of apple pie from my childhood, my current apple pie indulgence is limited to visits home or in this past Christmas’ instance, my Mom’s visit to Austin. And honestly, I’m fine indulging in it every few years but in between these homemade treats, I still enjoy the flavors of apple pie by mixing up an Apple Pie Protein Smoothie – the healthified apple pie!

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This smoothie recipe is something I came up with years later, after first enjoying an Apple Pie Milkshake during my 3rd grade class’ Apple Day celebration.  The original recipe had applesauce, cinnamon, milk, and of course, ice cream.  Mine on the other hand has fresh apples & applesauce, spices, almond milk & vanilla protein powder. It’s a slimmed down version of the milkshake but still delivers all the flavors of Mom’s apple pie without the fat, calories, and post-indulgence guilt.  It’s great for breakfast, a mid-afternoon snack or even a late night dessert!

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Apple Pie Protein Smoothie
 
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A healthy, tasty creation to curve a sweet craving that taste's just like Mom's homemade apple pie!
Serves: 1 smoothie
Ingredients
  • 1 cup almond milk, vanilla or original [I use unsweetened]
  • ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ½ apple finely diced* [I prefer Fuji or Empire but I’ve also used Granny Smith for some extra tartness]
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground clove
  • ½ scoop vanilla protein powder [I use about 40 grams]
  • 6-8 ice cubes
Instructions
  1. Directions:
  2. Place everything in the blender beginning with the top of the ingredient list and working you way down.
  3. Add additional ice cubes as needed to acquire your desired thickness.
  4. Pour into a glass, sprinkle with cinnamon & enjoy!
Notes
Sometimes, I only add half of the apple to the smoothie and choose to stir in the rest to the smoothie after blending. Obviously, you can’t drink the smoothie but I enjoy eating it with a spoon, kind of like a soup smoothie!

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