Mini Cocotte Apple Crisp Ft. Salted Caramel Sauce

Brief Origin

It was a crisp autumn day; the scent of fallen leaves and the apples from the orchard my great-great-grandfather had planted in his youth filled the air. I was 13, and not yet a man. …isn’t that how these recipe blogs are meant to start?

Fast forwarding through the BS, I bought a 5.5 qt matte black dutch oven from Crate & Barrel a couple years ago and recently discovered these ADORABLY teeny, tiny, miniature cocottes that look exactly like their larger parent.

I love these lil’ bbs, and was very excited to use them. (I am also v desperate for a creative outlet that isn’t work and wanted to pretend like I was a food blogger for a minute.) So, even though it’s May, I’m making one of my favorite desserts: apple crisp.

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Make

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F.

2. Filling: peel / core your apples then thinly slice into a mixing bowl. Add sugar and cinnamon (I use an obnoxious amount of cinnamon becuase I love it, but if you enjoy a more mild flavor, maybe knock it down to just 1 tablespoon). Set bowl aside and let the flavors get to know each other.

3. Streusel: Mix all of the dry ingredients together. Once blended, cut butter into small cubes and combine with the dry mixture until it’s crumbly.

4. Fill your mini cocottes with the apple mixture. Make sure you’re pressing down as you’re filling because they will dramatically shrink whilst baking. Once you’ve stuffed the cocotte with as many apples as you can, add a generous handful of streusel on top until covered. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the apples are bubbling and the streusel is golden brown.

5. Salted Caramel Sauce: While the apple crisp is cooking, grab a saucepan and roll up your sleeves. This salted caramel sauce is a tricky lady. Lovingly place your sugar into the saucepan and sauté on medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Because we’re starting with dry sugar, it’s going to take a hot minute to caramelize the sugar, but when it starts, it will happen VERY quickly.

6. Once the sugar turns a light amber color, remove the saucepan from heat and add the butter. Stir until melted, then add the cream, salt, and vanilla. Stir until combined and then let cool.

7. Serving: Serve with a giant scoop of vanilla bean ice cream over top and drizzle with the salted caramel sauce. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Filling
5 peeled and sliced apples
2 Tbsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Streusel
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp butter

Salted Caramel Sauce
3/4 cup sugar
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla