WOW! your friend with a caramel apple treat that won’t mess with dental work! This easy dessert rates RELAXED on the STress-O-Meter.

“Time ripens the substance of a life as the seasons mellow and perfect its fruits. The best apples fall latest and keep longest.” – Amos Bronson Alcott

The summer peaches and sweet berries are long gone; the grocery aisles, roadside stands, and farmer’s markets are now brimming with apples. Lots and lots of apples! Have you ever wondered how many types of apples there are? Hold on to your hat; there are 7,500 varieties of apples —2,500 of which are grown in the United States.

Any supermarket apple will work in this Galette!

The most common apple varieties are the Red Delicious, Gala, Granny Smith, Golden delicious, Lady, Baldwin, McIntosh, Honey crisp, Fuji, and Cortland. I love it! I also love the new challenge of finding yummy ways to use all these apples.

Great idea, flawed execution

One of my childhood favorite treats was Caramel Apples. Unfortunately, as I grew older, this sticky sweet invention lost its appeal – when I lost a filling! However, I never lost my taste of creamy caramel combined with crisp fresh apple. I just needed an easier way to eat it.

I also wanted an easier way to make it – if you have ever tried dipping apples in a bowl of melted caramel, you know it’s not near as easy as it sounds. I couldn’t find a recipe that met my requirements for being stress-free to make and impressive to serve, so I took elements from a handful and came up with my own creation: The Caramel Apple Galette. And, btw, it’s absolutely delicious!!!

Easy, delicious alternative

Caramel Apple Galette on plate — Caramel Apple Galette

A galette (pronounced “guh-let”) is a French cuisine term for a freeform pie or tart. No pie pan is required, just a 12 inch round pie crust. It has a very rustic charm to it, which means it’s not “fussy.”

The secret ingredient…

The ingredients are straightforward. A couple of apples, half a package of cream cheese, about a half bag of caramels, a splash of milk, a little butter, sprinkle of cinnamon and the secret ingredient… a refrigerator pie crust (the kind that’s rolled up, not the frozen type that comes in an aluminum pie tin). The refrigerator pie crust is what makes this recipe so quick and easy to put together.

There’s not a lot of prep that needs doing. The cream cheese and the pie crust need to be taken out of the fridge to warm to room temp, and a baking sheet/pan needs lining with parchment paper. I have a silicone mat for my sheet pans, but I opt for parchment paper because there’s a very high chance that the filling will leak. Parchment paper makes clean-up a breeze, provided that it overlaps the edges of the pan.

Prepping the apples

peeled apple and veggie peeler — Peel apples with vegetable peeler or paring knife

Almost any type of apple will work, but I like using Honeycrisp or Granny Smith. If you have never peeled an apple, don’t panic – it’s easy. You can use a paring knife, but I prefer to use a vegetable or potato peeler. I find it easiest to do a spiral peel. Then I slice off the cheeks of the apple and cut them into thin slices.

apple slices on cutting board — Thinly slice apples

By this time, the pie crust has lost its chill and can be unrolled or unfolded (hopefully) without breaking onto the parchment-lined baking sheet/pan. If you get a crack or a tear, smooth it out with a bit of water and wet fingertips. Spread the softened cream cheese on the crust, leaving about an inch clear.

Prep the crust

Images of crust and crust with cream cheese — Roll ou crust onto parchment lined baking sheet/pan and spread cream cheese in an even layer

Super easy caramel sauce

The caramel sauce is super easy! Unwrap the caramels and put them in a Pyrex quart measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl with two tablespoons of milk. Nuke on HIGH for one minute, stir and cook for another minute.

Images of caramels and caramel sauce in measuring cup — Melt caramels with milk in the microwave

Pour half the sauce on top of the cream cheese and spread it out. Place the apple slices on top of the caramel layer. Dot the apples with the butter and drizzle with the remainder of the caramel sauce. Fold the edges of the pie crust up over the apples, leaving the center open.

Putting it all together

Three images of filling being built on the pastry crust — Build the filling with layers of cream cheese, caramel, apples, butter dots and caramel

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Cinnamon sprinkled on Galette — Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake

Bake for 25-30 minutes in a preheat 400˚F until crust starts to brown.

Bake, cool, serve!

Galette cooling on wire rack — Carefully remove from pan an cool on a wire rack.

Cool on a wire rack. This dessert is even more delicious when served with ice cream or whipped topping. Enjoy!