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

• 1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  3.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
  4. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
  5.  Pour into a greased 12-in. ovenproof skillet.

 

TOPPING

1. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and flour; cut in butter until crumbly.
2. Stir in pecans and oats; sprinkle over batter. Top with apples.
3. Bake 60-70 minutes or until apples are golden brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

 

CARAMEL SAUCE

1.  In a microwave, melt caramels with buttermilk; stir until smooth.
2.  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