Delicious Desserts: 15-Minute Caramel & Pan-Fried Apple Crumble

Saturday at our house felt a little chaotic. After some morning cleaning and some trips back and forth, we finally dropped my car off to get new tires put on in the morning. From there took Happy to the dog park for a last romp before the snow really started to fall. We got home just in time to welcome our niece and nephew in for the afternoon (had not gotten to the grocery store yet - sorry, kids!).

I scrounged around for lunch, then Tom dropped my niece and me off at the grocery store to shop for something to make for dessert. We were going to spend the evening with friends we had not seen in some time and that was my dish to bring. Thankfully, my niece loves to bake and was a great help in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, my nephew had far too much fun with Happy. They're really good play mates.

Playing with oversized drink umbrellas...turned...Asian hats?

Tom was raking leaves while I was busy putting out fires inside (no, really...my second fire on the stove top in the past month...not a good trend!) and trying to keep the boys (Happy & nephew) out of trouble. My niece and I made these delicious Chocolate Caramel Mini Cheesecakes from a recipe I found on Pinterest...only, we made our own Caramel Sauce. Yum!

chocolate caramel mini cheesecakes dessert

Turned out delicious! Sweet, and rich, but delicious!

I wanted to make a separate little mini dessert for my niece and nephew that didn't contain so much sugar. I had gotten some apples and was thinking some sort of baked caramel apple dessert. We were contemplating how to make it when suddenly my niece says, "Don't you have to leave in 15 minutes?" I looked at the time. Yikes! We did only have 15 minutes before they were going to be picked up and we had to head out to our friends' house. Already having some of the ingredients put together....I improvised! No time to bake apples. I suggested something in the microwave, and my niece (understandably) made a face. No, you're right. No microwave. In a sudden burst of inspiration, I whipped out my cast iron skillet and decided pan-fried apples couldn't take that long and would probably taste great! So, here's the little dessert I invented.

15 minute caramel and pan fried apple crumble dessert recipe

Ingredients:

2 apples, peeled and diced
Caramel sauce
6 graham crackers, processed into crumbs
3 Tbsp. butter
Cinnamon and sugar to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix graham cracker crumbs with 2 Tbps. butter and press into the bottom of several small ramekins, reserving about 1/4 of the crumb mixture. Bake graham cracker crust for 10 minutes. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a skillet and add apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar to taste. Cook apples on medium high until softened. Add apple pieces to ramekin dishes, drizzle caramel sauce over top and sprinkle with remaining graham cracker crumbs. Bake an additional 5 minutes and enjoy!

The kids gobbled it up, so I figured it had to be decent. I had some leftovers, so I made a small pan for Tom which he ate tonight. I tasted a bit and thought it was good, considering I don't like cooked apples. Tom said it was different, but good. Not his Apple Pie...I think is what he meant :) Anyways, not bad for a dessert in a pinch!

at the Water's Edge