Honey Rum Apple Crumble

Sticky honey, a touch of warm butter, and dark rum are the key to the delicious filling in this crumble that lets the natural flavor of Honeycrisp apples shine. When things start cooking, promise yourself to only take a taste. While crumbs are usually the best, and most picked off, part of any dessert they top, these apples are so good that you might need to stop yourself from eating them all right out of the pan.

Ingredients

Apple Filling

2 pounds Honeycrisp apples
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons dark rum

Crumb Topping

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
⅓ cup light brown sugar
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Once while making this recipe, I ate so many of the apples before preparing the crumb topping that I changed plans, topped them with vanilla ice cream, and called it a day. I do, however, recommend following through with the entire recipe because the crumb topping is equally delicious.

Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees and placing about 6 ramekins or individual baking dishes (depending on your preferred size) on a baking sheet. 

Peel the apples then cut into slices just over 1/4-inch thick, discarding the core. 

Melt the butter for the filling in a large pan over medium heat, then add the honey and rum, stirring to combine.  Once the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, cook for another minute, stirring frequently.  Add the apples and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the apples to a bowl, leaving all juice in the pan.  Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly.  As the sauce thickens and begins to foam, lower heat as necessary so it does not become dark.  Once reduced to about two tablespoons, stir sauce into apples and divide filling among ramekins or baking dishes.

Melt the butter and let it cool.  Combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.  Drizzle the butter over the flour mixture and incorporate it thoroughly yet gently using a fork.  Use hands to form crumbs by gently squeezing the topping.  Scatter crumbs over the apples.

Bake until the filling bubbles around edges and the crumb topping turns golden, about 30 minutes.

Remove apple crumbles from baking sheet and let cool for at least 20 minutes.  Serve warm. Vanilla ice cream optional.