Caramel Apple Pecan Pizza

My husband is very particular about caramel sauce... He hates store-bought caramel sauces. He has attempted to make perfect caramel sauce for years and failed miserably, he says. When I made this delicious dessert pizza one night, he immediately fell in love with the caramel sauce that I made. He said it was one of the best. I even changed the recipe a little bit and used whole milk instead of heavy cream! I thickened the sauce using a little bit of cornstarch. And it still tasted wonderful. You can use your favorite pizza dough or puff pastry.

 

Caramel Apple Pizza (adapted from "Betty Crocker's)

Printable version

Ingredients:

Caramel syrup (recipe follows)

2 medium apples, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsps ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg (I skipped this because my husband and I are allergic to it)

1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened (I skipped this one also to reduce calories)

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 package (17 1/4 oz) frozen puff pastry or your favorite pizza dough

1 cup chopped pecan, toasted

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil or cooking parchment paper (You'll need one of these otherwise the caramel sauce will stick to the sheets). Prepare caramel syrup.

2. Toss apple and lemon juice in medium bowl. Stir in sugar, the cinnamon and nutmeg.

3. Beat cream cheese in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla on medium speed until blended. (Or skip this part for lower calories but I know this will add a wonderful flavor and texture to the pizza!!)

4. Roll each sheet of pastry into 10-inch square on foil-lined cookie sheet. Cut into 10-inch circle. Place scraps in center and roll into pastry. (Alternate: Roll out pizza dough into 10-inch circle and pour 1/4 cup melted butter on the dough.)

5. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture over each pastry circle (if you're using cream cheese). Arrange apple slices on circles. Sprinkle with pecan. Drizzle about 1/4 cup syrup over each circle.

6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Pour remaining syrup over pizzas. Serve warm.

Caramel Syrup:

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1/3 cup corn syrup

2 tbsps stick margarine or butter

1/3 cup whipping (heavy) cream or 1/3 cup whole milk (if you're using milk, use 1 tbsp cornstarch + 1/4 cup water)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat brown sugar, corn syrup and butter to boiling in 1 quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened; remove from heat. Cool slightly, about 30 minutes. Stir in whipping cream (or whole milk and cornstarch mixture) and vanilla extract.