It seems that Pinterest has been exploding with pins about making caramel in a crock pot using sweetened condensed milk, to which I say, really? Y'all didn't know you could do that?
Oh.
Sorry. I would have told you if I had realized it was a secret.
I've known for a while and even know of a few recipes that call for ye old sweetened condensed milk in a crock pot trick. This one, for Caramel Apple Pie, came to me via my mother-in-law, who has been making it for years.
It's ridiculously easy, especially because there are only a couple of ingredients.
You start with a can of sweetened condensed milk. Peel the label off of the can, and then submerge it completely under water in a crock pot. Turn that crock pot on low and wait eight hours. Once it has cooled a bit, if you open the can, you'll find a caramel that is reminiscent of dulce de leche.
I swear to you that it works. I've seen other instructions online for cooking it at high for less time or even on a stove top, but I prefer the 8-hour method since that is pretty much "overnight." I like having stuff ready for me when I wake up.
Next you'll need a graham cracker crust, which you could buy pre-made, or you could throw some crushed graham crackers, melted butter, and sugar into a pie pan. Both ways work just fine.
Then grab some apples.
Core the apples and then slice them really thinly. Place them in your graham cracker crust.
There's no need for neatness. I'm just a bit of a freak about stuff like that. Oh, and if I had remembered, I would have poured a little bit of the caramel in after each layer of apples, but oh well.
I managed to get my caramel on there just fine. Just all at once. Heh.
Once the caramel is on there, top it with some crushed nuts.
Look at me avoiding the obvious nutty jokes!
That's it. That's how you make a Caramel Apple Pie. I mean, you need to put it in the fridge for a bit to let the caramel solidify a bit, but still. That's it.
Could it get any easier? I think not.
Caramel Apple Pie
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 graham cracker pie crust
3 small apples (use a "dry" apple like Granny Smith), sliced thinly
1/2 cup chopped mixed nuts (I used the ones that are in the ice cream topping aisle)
1. Remove the label from the sweetened condensed milk. Submerge it in water in a crock pot, put the lid on the crock pot, and allow it to cook on low for eight hours.
2. Allow the cooked sweetened condensed milk to cool a bit. Remember physics class? You know how we all learned that things expand when they're hot? Yeah. That includes sweetened condenses milk. Don't get impatient with opening that can. I like to wait an hour.
3. Core and slice three small apples.
4. Layer the apple slices in your graham cracker crust.
5. Pour the caramel over top and smooth it with a spatula, working the caramel into the lower layers. (You can also alternate adding apple slices and caramel as you build the pie. Really, either way works fine.)
6. Sprinkle nut topping over the top.
7. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
The crisp apples, sweet caramel, and salty nuts all come together perfectly in this pie. Trust me. It's good.