i'd rather be baking

Last week, I made dessert in my crockpot. I went there! I should mention that on that particular day, my daytime meals consisted of cereal, yogurt, and oatmeal…with some pumpkin bread thrown in for a snack. Sometimes you just need carbs. At least I had dessert covered.

I’ve never made dessert in a slow cooker before, but I kind of couldn’t resist. I mean…sugar, apples, cranberries and oats getting all snuggly warm for a few hours can do no wrong.

I’ve eaten way more of this than I care to talk about. It’s great over cereal, in case you’re wondering. I bought approximately 12 zillion local apples a few days ago and I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a crockpot crumble after-party.

Is there anything prettier than cranberries and apples? Let’s do this!

Slow Cooker Caramel Apple Cranberry Crumble
Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Serves 4 to 6

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 large apples, cut into chunks
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:
2/3 cup oats
2/3 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons softened butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toss apple chunks and cranberries with salt and cinnamon.

In the bottom of your slow-cooker, mix brown and granulated sugars, then spread evenly to cover. Layer apples and cranberries on top, keeping them in a single layer as much as possible, then adding the rest on top.

Mix the crumble topping together in a bowl, using your fingers to distribute the butter evenly and thoroughly and clump it together. Sprinkle it over top of the apples. Cook apples on low for 4 hours, or high for 2 hours. Turn off heat, unplug, and let sit, covered, for one hour. During this time the caramel will thicken a bit more. Serve with vanilla ice cream.