The Weekly Kitchen: Enjoy the rich flavors of fall with Caramel Apple Cobbler
By ANGELA McRAE, The Weekly Kitchen
Not everyone likes pumpkin spice. So while I’ve had pumpkin spice Moon Pies and some pumpkin spice tea and even pumpkin spice cheese this year (tasty!), I decided to cool it on the pumpkin spice foods and share, instead, a caramel-apple-inspired recipe this month. I absolutely love caramel apples, but who first thought of this brilliant pairing?
According to Nationaltoday.com, a Kraft Foods employee was tasked with finding a use for all the leftover caramels one Halloween. “Figuring out a way to use up these extra caramels,” the site says, “the confectioner, Dan Walker, decided to melt them and covered the apples with the melted caramel, creating an immediate autumnal classic.” Bless him!
The apple is the star of the fruit world each fall, and with good reason. A nice, crunchy apple makes a great snack, and apple bits can turn up in everything from quick breads and pound cakes to applesauce, apple butter, and other apple-filled foods.
I had a few extra apples on hand recently and decided to try them in a favorite cobbler recipe. First, I cooked the apples with some brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon to give them a nice caramel flavor. I substituted them for the summer berries I usually add to cobblers, and the result was a big hit at my house.
A generous sprinkling of pecans makes the perfect crunchy topping, and drizzled with a little more caramel, this cobbler is the perfect treat to eat precisely once a year. Of course, if you really want to take it over the top, serve this hot out of the oven with a scoop of your best vanilla ice cream and enjoy!
Caramel Apple Cobbler
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into thin wedges (I used Honeycrisp apples)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick butter, divided use
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan over high heat, add apple slices, brown sugar, cinnamon, and 4 tablespoons of the butter. Combine all ingredients and stir until the butter has completely melted and mixture starts to bubble. Then on medium-high heat, continue stirring for 6-7 minutes until the apple slices have softened and the butter and sugar have reached a thin caramel consistency. Remove from heat.
In a medium mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and milk, and stir just until combined.
Using an 8- or 9-inch square glass baking dish, melt the remaining four tablespoons of butter in the microwave. Next, pour the flour-and-milk mixture on top of the melted butter. Last, pour the apple mixture on top, allowing the apples to sink down into the batter. Sprinkle cobbler with pecans and bake for 30 minutes. Excellent drizzled with your favorite homemade or purchased caramel sauce and served with vanilla ice cream! Yields 10-12 servings.
