Apple, Pecan and Caramel Crisp Trifle

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When I think of Fall, I think of warm apple pie and flavors like pecans and caramel. One of my all time favorite desserts has always been apple crisp (also called apple crumble). If we visit a restaurant and they have it on their dessert menu, I’m absolutely ordering it. There’s something about those warm, delicious fall flavors that always makes me feel right at home. Top it with some vanilla ice cream and it’s heaven in a dish! 

In honor of National Dessert Day, I wanted to try to share a different take on my favorite Fall dessert, so I came up with this apple, pecan and caramel crisp trifle. It’s layers of those yummy flavors, in individual dishes that you can serve for dessert on a regular night to your family, or for guests on Thanksgiving or the holidays! 

Ok, let’s talk about the ingredients for this apple, pecan and caramel crisp trifle. The number of Granny Smith apples will depend on their size. If your store has the giant ones like ours does, you will probably only need 2. Though, you are not likely to have any leftovers anyway, so I tend to make a little extra for that one person that says they don’t want any and then gets a whiff while you’re cooking and changes their mind. Do you have one of those in your family too? 

You want to make sure the pecans are chopped very finely. I was able to find these pecan chips at Target and they worked perfectly. You can also take whole pecans and pulse them in the food processor a bit until they are small. Either way is perfectly fine and will give you the same result! It’s really about convenience.

For the caramel sauce, I used the Ghirardelli brand from Target. The Torani caramel sauce that I used for the Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato copycat recipe works really well too! You can also use any caramel sauce in the ice cream section, or if you’re feeling adventurous, you can even make your own caramel!

The flavor of the ice cream is totally up to you. We prefer vanilla and often just grab which ever one is currently on sale!

A couple of tips…

Make sure that there are no lumps in the crumble when you put it in the oven. The brown sugar tends to want to stick together, so just keep an eye out for that and break those up.

Watch the crumble when you put it in the oven! The first time I made this apple, pecan and caramel crisp trifle, I put the crumble in for the full amount of time without stirring and it burned a little. My family still ate it, either because they didn’t want me to feel bad or it still was delicious even though it was a little on the dark side. When I made it the proper way the second time, they finally saw the difference.

I recommend making this right before you are ready to serve because we like the apples to be a little on the warm side. If you are preparing these apple crisp trifles in advance, you can make them, (minus the ice cream) cover them and put them in the fridge. Take them out about 10-15 minutes before you’re ready to serve them and top with ice cream, additional crumble and caramel sauce.

My family’s reviews were unanimous. They all loved it and want me to make it again for Thanksgiving. It’s such a refreshing change from our regular chocolate-something dessert. It’s perfect for my teen who refuses to eat pie crust, but loves apple pie (yeah, she’s our picky one). 

If you want to add some pumpkin spice to it, I bet it would give it another layer of Fall flavors. We are going to try that next time! This apple, pecan and caramel crisp trifle is sure to become one of your family favorites!

I’ve tried to show the steps in photos above for you, to make it a bit easier.

Step 1: Crumble ingredients

Step 2: Mixed crumble ingredients

Step 3: Crumble spread out on a cookie sheet

Step 4: Cooked crumble, fresh out of the oven

Step 5: Apple mixture

Step 6: Cooked apple mixture

Step 7: Apple layer

Step 8: Crumble layer

Step 9: Caramel sauce layer

Step 10: 2nd apple layer

Step 11: 2nd crumble layer

Step 12: 2nd caramel layer (this is optional)

Step 13: Ice cream

Step 14: Caramel drizzle

If you try our Apple, Pecan and Caramel Crisp Trifle recipe, we’d love to hear your thoughts. If you post it on social media, we’d love for you to tag @thesupermomlife! Don’t forget to check out all of our family friendly recipes! 

Apple, Pecan and Caramel Crisp Trifle

Apple, Pecan and Caramel Crisp Trifle

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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 17 reviews

• Author: Heather l The Super Mom Life
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Description

If you love apple crisp, you’ll love my trifle version! Layers of warm cinnamon and brown sugar apples, granola and pecan crumble, caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. It’s perfect for Fall or the holidays!

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Ingredients

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Crumble

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• pinch of salt

Apples

• 2–3 granny smith apples, peeled and diced
• 3 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 5 tbsp brown sugar

Toppings

• caramel sauce
• vanilla ice cream

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Place all topping ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined and there are no lumps.
• Spread topping mixture on a baking sheet, in one flat layer.
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• Remove topping from the oven, stir and flatten into one layer. Put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove topping from the oven and let cool.
• Meanwhile, combine all apple ingredients in a sauce pan and toss to coat.
• Cook on low-med for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until you reach the desired consistency.
• Move apples from the heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
• Once everything has cooled a bit, using small cups or trifle dishes, add one layer of apples.
• Top with a layer of crumble.
• Squeeze some caramel sauce on top.
• Top with another layer of apples.
• Top with another layer of crumble.
• Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
• Sprinkle some extra crumble on top and squeeze caramel sauce on ice cream.

• Prep Time: 10 min
• Cook Time: 20 min

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