Caramel Apple Crisp

Sue Lau's Note:

Recipe from Pillsbury. Baking apples are best. I would use something like Granny Smith, Cortlands, Jonathans, Empires, Yellow Delicious, Honey Crisp, Ida Reds or Winesap (Winesap are my favorite and are usually found late season during October). I would avoid such apples as Red Delicious or Macintosh. They are great for eating but fall apart when cooked. And one of my secrets is to make a blend of baking apples, so the flavors are more well rounded and less one dimensional. Some apples, such as the Granny Smith, have that nice bite to them but are short on sweetness other apples have and aren't that great by themselves.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

• 1 (18 1/4 ounce) box pillsbury reduced sugar yellow cake mix or 1 (18 1/4 ounce) box regular yellow cake mix
• 2/3 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 2/3 cup chopped toasted pecans
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 4 ounces butter, melted
• 6 cups baking apples, peeled cored and sliced
• 1/4 cup sugar-free caramel ice cream topping or 1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease an oblong 9x13-inch cake pan and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, stir together the cake mix, oats, pecans, cinnamon and butter until crumbly (as you would for making streusel).
4. Mix in the apples and spread into the cake pan.
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden brown. The color is more important than the cooking time since ovens can vary slightly and the baking times are an estimate.
6. Warm caramel in a Pyrex cup in the microwave 10 seconds or until hot.
7. Drizzle over crisp.
8. Serve crisp warm with sugar-free ice cream.