Caramel Apple Crisp Bites

It's finally my favorite time of year again - FALL! One of my absolute favorite fall activities is apple picking then using those apples to bake up a delicious dessert.

This past weekend, we had a few social engagements for which I was in charge of bringing the baked goods (it's an honor). As much as I wanted to bake a traditional apple crisp, I didn't feel as though it was party-friendly...especially with covid still somewhat hanging around. So I turned to a recipe I haven't made in years - my heavenly Caramel Apple Crisp Bites.

This recipe still lives on my really old blog website (you can check it out here, but please don't judge me. It hasn't been updated in almost 10 years LOL). I hopped on because I needed a refresher, and I became even more excited to make these. They're the perfect fall party treat.

They can also easily be made Gluten Free by using Gluten Free Flour + Graham Cracker Crumbs for the crust, or, I actually crushed up Annie's Gluten Free Cinnamon Snickerdoodle Bunny Grahams for one of the batches I made. I made a regular batch and a GF batch, and both versions taste amazing--you can't even tell which is GF and which one isn't.

This recipe is fairly simple to make although the crust can be a little tricky. You just want to make sure you spray the pan well enough with cooking spray so the bites don't stick, and be sure to not add too much butter to the crust. Other than that, it's a fairly straight-forward recipe that allows you to have all of the goodness of an apple crisp in one scrumptious bite, plus caramel!

Here's What You Need:

• 2 cup graham cracker crumbs

• 10 tablespoons butter, melted

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 4 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 2 1/4 tablespoons flour

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• Caramel topping (I used the store-bought Smucker's brand because I was in a pinch for time, but feel free to make your own!)

Here's What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease mini muffin pan with non-stick butter spray (cooking spray) and set aside.

3. Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl (30 seconds to a minute) being careful not to burn.

4. In a medium size bowl mix graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and butter with a spoon, then slowly add the butter (be careful not to add too much or make it too watery)

5. Evenly distribute mixture to the mini muffin cups. Press along the bottom and sides to make a “cup.” Try to make sure you have some graham cracker crust leftover, set it aside for now.

6. Bake for 5 minutes and let cool completely.

7. Mix the chopped apples (make sure they're chopped in small pieces/cubes), sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl.

8. Bake in a baking dish for 15 minutes on 375 degrees, until apples are slightly softened.

9. Scoop about a teaspoon of the apple mix and place it on top of the graham cracker crust cups (while still in the muffin pans).

10. Sprinkle any extra graham cracker on top of the apples.

11. Bake for 5 minutes on 350 degrees.

12. Let cool completely.

13. Carefully use a knife to loosen from pan, first going around the edge of the cup. Then carefully pop them out.

14. Drizzle with caramel topping (if desired) and enjoy!

I'll be posting a video of me making these on TikTok soon, stay tuned and happy fall!