Maple Pecan Goat Cheese Skillet Apple Crisp

A gluten free apple crisp with a touch of tangy goat cheese and full of some of the best flavors fall has to offer.

Yikes, September. You just flew on by, didn’t you? I feel like that always happens, at least in our house, because with a birthday at the end of the month and a deep, undying love for everything pumpkin, it’s hard not to welcome the days after Labor Day with open arms.

Not only that, but my awesome/amazing/handsome/incredible/hard-working/unbelievably motivated husband signed the lease for his own gym at the end of August, meaning he went from renting an 800 square foot room in a church to his own, legit, 3100 square foot empty warehouse space.

That’s meant a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get it off the ground and looking good, so the days in September sort of all blended together.

I can’t even tell you how many hours we spent there as a family of 3, trying to corral a just-learned-to-walk toddler and keep him from putting his hands in paint and playing with power tools…

It’s been a wonderfully exhausting September.

But, here we are, fully into October, the heart of fall and the time for all things cinnamon, pumpkin, apple… All the best flavors, right? And this apple crisp right here is the best way to welcome fall with those open arms I spoke about.

Wiiiiiide open with sticky, brown sugar maple covered fingers because you can’t stop making this recipe.

This apple crisp is so simple. I can’t believe I’ve actually never made any kind of crisp before, because it’s way too easy and the perfect way to showcase the abundance of apples this time of year.

And, not only is this recipe full of ooey gooey brown sugared apples, we’re also adding a unique twist by using some goat cheese. Maple pecan goat cheese, in fact, from my favorite cheese people at Sincerely, Brigitte.

You’ve seen this amazing maple pecan goat cheese before– in 2016’s 12 Days of Christmas Cookies with my maple pecan goat cheese sugar cookies. Those cookies are the bomb. If you’ve never thought to put goat cheese in cookies, think again and just do it. You won’t regret it.

The added tanginess that goat cheese brings to anything it touches is the perfect addition to the warm fall flavors of this skillet apple crisp.

So let’s talk about exactly what you’ll be doing to get this apple crisp off the ground. First of all, you’ll want to work with a cast iron skillet that is at least 9″ in diameter. This is the one I own and love. The reason we’re working with a skillet and not cooking the apples in a separate pan?

Just that reason– you don’t have to dirty another pan by cooking up the apples and then transferring them to a baking dish. Although you’re welcome to use that method if you don’t have a cast iron skillet! Directions in the recipe.

You’ll cook the apples until the brown sugar/maple syrup sauce is nice and thick and coating all of the apples. Then, you’ll top the cooked apples with sliced butter and chunks of the goat cheese. Ohhh my goodness, those bites with the goat cheese in them… Heavenly! You’ll use 4 ounces of the goat cheese.

Plenty of tangy goat cheese bites to go around!

We’re topping the cooked apples with a gluten free topping. That’s right– an oaty, streusely topping made with zero flour. Just loaded up with oats, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, and butter. It will crisp up nicely and you won’t miss the flour one bit. I promise.

Although I photographed this skillet apple crisp with ice cream, I actually served it at Matt’s open house without the ice cream, and it got amazing rave reviews. I even had someone propose to me. Legit.

But no worries– he’s one of Matt’s best buds and he’s taken too. He just wanted me to know how much he loved the dish, and he had so many people who followed his lead and sought me out to ask me for the recipe.

I happily told them the recipe would be up today, so I imagine a lot of apple crisping happening in southeastern PA this week.

Each bite of this skillet apple crisp has something the one before it didn’t. Not only do we have a mixture of perfectly softened apples, you’ve also got a ton of crisp pecans, crunchy oats, and of course, all kinds of gooey brown sugar situations happening.

And those bites with the goat cheese? That added tang just take this dessert to a whole new level. A lovely cheesy level (the good kind of cheesy).

If you’re looking for a fun twist on a classic fall crisp, this is it. Use your favorite apples if you prefer not to use Granny Smith, chunk some, slice others, keep the texture interesting. Whatever you do, share this with some of your favorite people. They will love you even more for it!

And maybe you’ll get a marriage proposal too… If you’re looking for that sort of thing!

Print Recipe

Maple Pecan Goat Cheese Skillet Apple Crisp

A gluten free apple crisp with a touch of tangy goat cheese and full of some of the best flavors fall has to offer.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time35 mins

Total Time55 mins

Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

TOPPING

• 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted

FILLING

• 5 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored, and sliced/cut into chunks*
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces Sincerely Brigitte Maple Pecan goat cheese cut into small pieces
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 6-8 slices

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Position a rack in the middle of the oven.
• Place an empty baking sheet on the lower rack to catch bubbling drippings.

TOPPING

• In a small bowl, stir together the oats, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, and salt until completely combined.
• Drizzle the melted butter over the mixture and stir until butter is evenly dispersed and all of the oats are moist. Set aside.

FILLING

• In a large bowl, combine the apples, brown sugar, maple syrup, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir together until everything is evenly dispersed. There will be a lot of liquid at the bottom-- this is ok. Set aside.
• Heat a 9" cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When skillet is adequately heated, pour apple mixture evenly into it. When apples begin to steam, begin stirring to evenly distribute the brown sugar sauce. It will start to thicken. Cook while stirring until sauce is thick and evenly coats all of the apples, approximately 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the skillet on the burner.
• Place the butter and goat cheese pieces over the top of the cooked apples, trying your best to evenly distribute them. Top everything with the oat topping
• Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until crisp and brown on top, an additional 20-25 minutes. After that time, turn off the oven and allow crisp to sit in the oven with the door cracked until the sugar stops bubbling and you can safely handle it.

Notes

*I used my apple corer/peeler for 3 of the apples, and peeled and cut the other 2 by hand for varying sizes of apple chunks. You may use whichever method you prefer.

If you don't have a cast iron skillet, you can cook the apples in a metal skillet and transfer to a baking dish before baking in the oven.

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Did you make this recipe?Mention @freshaprilflours on Instagram or tag #freshaprilflours!