This smoked caramel apple crisp recipe is a fall classic and an easy alternative to apple pie that requires far less tending to because there’s no crust to worry about.
For our apple crisp, we used Golden Delicious apples provided by Picnic Hills Orchards in Lancaster County, Nebraska. Golden Delicious apples have a mild, pear-like honeyed sweetness making them a perfect match for the caramel sauce and smoky flavor notes in this recipe. If you’re in the Lincoln area, we highly recommend you do the same, but any type of baking apple will do based on your preferred variety.
For this recipe, we used a recteq Backyard Beast with BBQR’s Delight Pecan Wood Pellets, but any pellet grill or smoker and pellet variety will work. We do recommend using pecan, apple, or hickory wood pellets for complementary flavors.
How to Make Smoked Caramel Apple Crisp
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Prep & Cook Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
- Servings: 12
- Ingredients: 7
Ingredients
- 1 cup caramel topping
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 12 large baking apples (about 5 1/2 lb), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch slices (about 12 cups)
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 cups cold butter or margarine, cut into small pieces
- 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
Video Guide
Instructions
- Heat the smoker to 375°F.
- Peel and cut the apples into 1/2-inch slices.
- Add the 5 1/2 lb of apples to an ungreased, thin aluminum pan (we used a Pit Boss 16.9” x 12.6” pan) and evenly coat the apple slices with 1 cup caramel topping and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
- Evenly spread the coated apples in the pan.
- Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1 cup of butter in a large bowl. The mixture should remain coarse, don’t overmix!
- Add 1 1/2 cup oats and stir into the coarse mix. Evenly spread over the top of the apples in the aluminum pan.
- Cut up 1 cup of butter and add to the top of the crumble mixture.
- Bake in the smoker for 1 hour or until the apples are tender and the topping mixture is golden brown.
Tips & Ways to Customize This Recipe
- Serve topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
- Add nuts for added crunch and texture after cooking, try 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts, adjust to taste.
- Substitute regular caramel for salted caramel for a sweet and salty contrast
- Reduce the amount of butter by 1/2 to 1 cup if you like your sweets just a little less sweet
- Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the apple filling, or substitute with 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract to bring a subtle sweetness and depth.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of bourbon to the apple filling for a deeper, slightly boozy flavor that pairs well with the caramel and spices.
You can also consider mixing and matching these recommendations to make this recipe your own!
In Conclusion
This is a great, easy recipe with a ton of room for customization which makes it a great introductory recipe for exploring baking with pellet grills and smokers. It’s also great for picky eaters or for potlucks because its classic base can be tailored to almost any palette.
If you try this recipe or have an idea for what you’d like to see us cook next, feel free to reach out, we’d love to hear from you!