Nothing Says Fall Like The Smell of Baked Apples And Caramel
I have baked a lot of pies but I have never made a “Buckle” dessert before. I am not sure where the name came from except maybe because this is so amazingly good that after you have a piece you will want to loosen you buckle so you can eat a second piece? I loved hearing my Great Grandma Upton talk about when she would make food for her family. She did a lot of cooking over the years and one time someone asked my Great Grandfather what his favorite desserts were . He replied that he only liked two kinds. Warm and Cold! Yep, I think this would have been something he would have loved eating this as much as my Grandma would have loved making it.
Caramel Apple Skillet Buckle
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 cups buttermilk
TOPPING:
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cold butter
- 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 6 cups thinly sliced peeled Gala or other sweet apples (about 6 medium)
- 18 caramels, unwrapped
- 1 tablespoon buttermilk
- Vanilla ice cream, optional
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
- In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
- Pour into a greased 12-in. ovenproof skillet.
TOPPING
- In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and flour; cut in butter until crumbly.
- Stir in pecans and oats; sprinkle over batter. Top with apples.
- Bake 60-70 minutes or until apples are golden brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
CARAMEL SAUCE
- In a microwave, melt caramels with buttermilk; stir until smooth.
- Drizzle over cake. Let stand until set. If desired, serve with ice cream. Yield: 12 servings.
Quick Tip: You can also make smaller
Originally published as Caramel-Apple Skillet Buckle in Taste of Home’s Holiday & Celebrations Cookbook Annual 2014