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There’s nothing quite like an apple crisp, with the soft apples, crispy topping, and a just hint of cinnamon. And, it’s excellent served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But, if you want to take this classic treat up another notch then this is the recipe for you!
This bacon caramel apple crisp adds the rich, smokey flavor of bacon into the mix. In recent years the world seems to have discovered just how well this savory flavor goes with sweet things and now there’s no going back!
The other enhancement that this recipe has over plain apple crisp is a wonderful caramel sauce to finish everything off. This is a show stopping dessert and one that will have you craving it long after you’ve finished your final course.
Like a regular crisp we’re tossing the apples with some lemon juice so they don’t turn brown while we assemble the rest of the ingredients. A bit of cinnamon and cardamom add to the flavor, too.
For the topping there’s quick oats and brown sugar, but there’s also 4 slices of cooked bacon. You’ll also need reserve a bit of the bacon grease for later to enhance that bacon flavor.
Finally there’s the sauce. This recipe uses a from-scratch caramel sauce made with heavy cream. But, if you want to skip a step you can heat up a little store-bought caramel sauce in the microwave. No one has to know it wasn’t a part of the original recipe. Personally I prefer the homemade, but when there’s company over I like to use to the shortcut way to make everything run a lot smoother timing wise.
And that’s your bacon caramel apple crisp ready to be served with a scoop of ice cream or a little whipped cream. Every bite has some crisp, some sweet, and some salty for a perfect medley of flavors. You might never see apple crisp in quite the same way again!
Bacon Caramel Apple Crisp
Watch How It's Made
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For the filling:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 apples, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch salt
For the topping:
- 1 1/2 cup quick oats
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
- 4 slices cooked bacon crumbled, with 1 tablespoon bacon grease revered
For the sauce and assembly:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- vanilla ice cream to serve
For the filling:
- Toss apples with lemon juice as soon as they’re cut. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add apples to pan along with brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cook for 5 minutes.
For the topping:
- In a small bowl combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in butter then fold in bacon. Set aside.
For the sauce and assembly:
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Add sugar and water to small saucepan. Heat over medium until sugar is dissolved and starts to bubble (3-4 minutes).
- Cook for 10-12 more minutes on medium-low, swirling the pan but no longer stirring. Whisk in butter slowly until melted.
- Remove from heat and whisk in cream, vanilla, and salt. Pour apples into 10” skillet greased with 1 tablespoon bacon grease. Pour 2/3 of the caramel sauce over apples. Add crumble topping over sauce.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream and a bit of reserved caramel on each helping.
Recipe adapted from 365 Days of Baking and More.
