This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. As always, all opinions are mine alone. #FueledByGranola #CollectiveBias
The ultimate Fall treat! Gooey, tender caramel apples, creamy caramel no-bake cheesecake and Bear Naked’s Sea Salt Caramel Apple Granola!
Trifles are so fun, aren’t they? Not only are they fun, but they are just so pretty. There are just so many possibilities with the layers that you can go as crazy or as simple as you’d like! These caramel apple no-bake cheesecake trifles are definitely my favorite so far. You can make mini trifles or these mason jar trifles which are a great single-serving size – not too, too big and not too small, perfect for a small dinner party!
All of the layers in this trifle are amazing. The gooey homemade apple pie filling mixed with homemade caramel, the no-bake caramel cheesecake and then you have my favorite layer, Bear Naked’s Sea Salt Caramel Apple Granola. Have you tried this stuff yet? It’s delish! Such perfect flavors for the fall time with tangy dried apple, crunchy caramel sweetness and a dash of sea salt! It’s awesome in these trifles because it goes with the whole caramel apple theme so well, but it’s also really great just with some greek yogurt for a perfect everyday breakfast or a snack! Just a yummy alternative from the vanilla almond granola I usually mix into my yogurt in the morning!
Now, about the glorious layers. You’ll make some homemade caramel sauce, which I taught you all about in this post with some step-by-step photos so I won’t go too in-depth in this post since you guys can just reference it there. I prefer my homemade caramel sauce over store-bought because in my opinion there is just no comparison! But you can feel free to substitute if you’d like.
After you make the caramel sauce, you’ll need to allow it to come to room temperature because it gets nice and thick and will keep the cheesecake nice and thick too. There will be leftover caramel sauce that you’ll mix with your homemade apple pie filling which is sooo-ooo-oooo good.
Then all you have to do is layer it all up in your cups of choice with some Bear Naked Sea Salt Caramel Apple Granola! I bought mine at BJ’s Wholesale because you get so much more bang for your buck there, you get three bags of granola in one box. I found mine near all of the breakfast cereals and other granolas. Oh, oh! I almost forgot. Make sure you grab your coupon at the front of the store so you can receive $2 off which can also be combined with the Ibotta app coupon for $4 off total!
[pinterest]
Caramel Apple No-Bake Cheesecake Trifles
Ingredients
*Homemade Caramel Sauce*
- Homemade Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 tbs unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- pinch salt
*Caramel No-Bake Cheesecake*
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbs caramel sauce
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 2 oz cool whip
- 1-2 tbs heavy cream or half and half
*Cinnamon Apples*
- 3 tbs unsalted butter
- 3 apples peeled, cored & chopped small
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbs brown sugar
- 1-3 tbs water as needed
- 3 cups Bear Naked's Sea Salt Caramel Apple Granola about 1/4 cup per layer
Instructions
- First, you'll need to prepare your caramel sauce. In a medium-sized heavy bottomed pot, heat water and sugar on HIGH heat and whisk just until the sugar is dissolved. It is extremely important that you have your stove on high heat or you run the risk of seizing up the sugar, turning it into a solid mess. Once sugar is dissolved, put the whisk to the side and start swirling the pot by the handle in circular motions. It's very important that you don't disturb the caramelization process too much and is why you'll need to swirl instead of whisk. Swirl constantly until the melted sugar turns a dark amber color, this will take about 5 minutes or so. The darker the amber color, the more intense caramel flavor you will have. After it turns dark amber, slowly and carefully pour in heavy cream. It will bubble up violently so you will need your whisk to whisk it very fast until it comes back down and it will start looking like caramel at this point. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Allow to cool to room temperature before continuing. It will thicken up as it cools.
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and beat again until smooth. Stir in caramel sauce. Fold in cool whip. Add 1-2 tbs of heavy cream starting with one and increasing if needed to achieve a silky smooth but still thick consistency.
- In a large skillet, melt butter on medium-low heat. Add apples and lemon juice and stir to coat them in butter. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. After 5 minutes add brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. You will notice as you keep cooking them, they will get a little dry, that is when you will add 1 tbs of water to keep them nice and gooey. Only use the water as needed. Once tender, set them aside to cool. Stir in remaining caramel sauce, about 1 1/2 cups.
- Start layering the trifles starting with granola, then caramel apples, then cheesecake. Granola, caramel apples, cheesecake and so forth until you reach the top of your jar. You may have a small amount of cheesecake leftover, but that's never a bad thing! Top trifles with leftover caramel sauce.
Follow along with Bear Naked on Facebook.
Looks like absolute perfection for fall. YUMMY!