Caramel Apple Crisp Framed By Gorgeous Antique Dishes

My last post was about finding antique dishes in the thrift store, and today is all about what I made to put in them! And I used almost every dish during this adventure.

Milk turns to caramel in two hours!

 After I found my dishes I was inspired to browse through some food magazines, and lo and behold I found some decadent looking recipes! I cut a bunch out and left one to experiment with my fabulous finds. I found a Caramel Apple Crisp recipe, which is similar to a crisp Grammy made for our last party, except she used butterscotch. After tasting the splendor of that dish I thought I would see how one small addition, caramel, would change these similar dishes.

There it is!

The first thing done is making that gooey, scrumptious caramel! In a water bath for two hours at boiling temperatures in an old pot. I recommend not using nice pots and pans for this task because there will be a black ring that requires elbow grease to get it off; use an old pot.

Mushing butter, oats, and spices.

I then got out my new clear bowl and mixed together the oats, flour, cinnamon, and cloves (I add cloves to  everything!), and then I squished in chunks of cold butter. I absolutely love the aroma of spices mingling together -- mouthwatering!

Piling on the layers.

You pat half of the mixture into your lovely blue and flower decorated Fire King casserole dishes, and cover with apples, caramel, and the oat mixture (repeat until just the oat mixture remains on top). You then have a gorgeous, aromatic dish to pop into the oven for 40-45 minutes.

Holy cow.

 Mom had also made vanilla ice cream with caramel swirled in it (we're using up ingredients if you haven't guessed). Nothing like coordinating your dishes! It looks so pretty and the flavors carry over from dish to dish. Holy crap, it was delicious!




 Remove crisp from the oven when a fork pokes through the apples without resistance; they're done now, smelling sinful, and calling my name.

I love these dishes!

Gorgeous dishes for a pretty dessert! A perfect fit, too!

Perfectly done!

I let the crisp settle for a minute, and then dug in. I broke out a brand new (well, to me anyway) cranberry glass bowl. I found this bowl just the other day at an antique store. I have a couple of dessert plates in this gorgeous color, but no bowls. Until now!

The marigold glass perfectly compliments the caramel.

 Hello, gorgeous! So delicious, too. There are some things I would change about the recipe, but all in all it was a wonderful find. Easy to assemble, too, which is nice when you want to whip up something incredible in a timely manner. This is your go-to guy. So good. And I love my addition of cloves. I think they make everything better, even when the dish is magnificent without them. Cloves elevate the class factor in my own personal opinion. :)

New cranberry glass bowl!

I have never been a fan of mixing ice cream with other desserts -- I do not like soggy cake...gross. I do have to say though that for this specific dish, the two should most definitely go together. The vanilla from the ice cream combines with the spices, oats, and apples, makes for happy taste buds! And the oats and flour stand up against the melty ice cream making this a wonderful after dinner dessert.