Eight ingredients and thirty minutes, in two skillets or one wiped out between steps.
These are sweet quesadillas. What makes them quesadillas is the folded, griddled tortilla; the filling is warm cinnamon apple rather than cheese.
Why This Recipe Works
- Cooking the apples first makes them tender and syrupy before they are enclosed.
- Lemon juice keeps the apple from tasting flat against the sugar.
- Filling only one half of each tortilla lets it fold cleanly.
- A clean skillet and a little butter give brown-spotted, crisp-edged tortillas.
- Caramel added at the end stays glossy rather than burning on the griddle.
Ingredient Notes
- Apples, peeled, cored and diced
- Two medium. Diced small so they cook tender in 6 to 8 minutes and fold easily into the tortilla.
- Brown sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice
- Two tablespoons, a teaspoon and a teaspoon. They cook down with the apples into a light syrup.
- Flour tortillas
- Four medium. Folded into half-moons and griddled until spotted and crisp at the edges.
- Caramel sauce
- A quarter cup, drizzled over the wedges at the end.
How to Make It
Apples cooked with butter, sugar, cinnamon and lemon until syrupy
Melt 1 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium. Add apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice and cook 6 to 8 minutes until the apples are tender and syrupy.
Filling spooned onto half of each tortilla, folded
Spoon apple filling over one half of each tortilla and fold into half-moons.
Griddled in butter until brown-spotted and crisp
Melt a little of the remaining butter in a clean skillet and griddle the folded tortillas 2 to 3 minutes per side until brown-spotted and crisp at the edges.
Cut into wedges, dusted with cinnamon, drizzled with caramel
Cut into wedges, dust lightly with cinnamon if desired, and drizzle with caramel sauce.
A Quesadilla by Its Shape
A quesadilla usually means melted cheese, and this one has none - only warm apple inside a toasted tortilla. It is a dessert or breakfast quesadilla by form: a folded, griddled tortilla, with no cheese at all. So the defining thing here is how it's put together.
The FILLING - cooked first, until syrupy
2 medium APPLES, PEELED, CORED AND DICED, cooked in 1 tbsp UNSALTED BUTTER with 2 tbsp BROWN SUGAR, 1 tsp GROUND CINNAMON and 1 tsp LEMON JUICE, 6 TO 8 MINUTES UNTIL THE APPLES ARE TENDER AND SYRUPY. Syrupy is the endpoint - enough to glaze the apple without being so wet it soaks the tortilla.
The FOLD - half a tortilla each
The filling SPOONED OVER ONE HALF OF EACH of the 4 MEDIUM FLOUR TORTILLAS and FOLDED INTO HALF-MOONS. This fold is what makes it a quesadilla.
The GRIDDLE - a clean pan, a little butter
A little of the remaining 1 tbsp BUTTER melted in A CLEAN SKILLET and the folded tortillas GRIDDLED 2 TO 3 MINUTES PER SIDE UNTIL BROWN-SPOTTED AND CRISP AT THE EDGES. Clean, because caramelised sugar left from the filling would scorch and blacken the tortillas.
CUT INTO WEDGES, DUSTED LIGHTLY WITH CINNAMON IF DESIRED, and DRIZZLED WITH 1/4 cup CARAMEL SAUCE - a component the title doesn't name. The apple filling is SERVED HOT OR WARM, and leftovers REFRIGERATED PROMPTLY.
Success Tips
- Let the apple filling cool slightly so it doesn't make the tortilla soggy.
- Wipe the skillet between the filling and the griddling so sugar doesn't scorch.
- Drizzle the caramel just before serving.
Serving Ideas
Four folded flour-tortilla quesadillas, brown-spotted and crisp at the edges, cut into wedges, filled with warm cinnamon apple and drizzled with caramel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there cheese in these quesadillas?
No. They're sweet breakfast quesadillas — the folded, griddled tortilla is the quesadilla, and the filling is warm cinnamon apple.
What apples work best?
Any medium apple that holds its shape when cooked. Peel, core and dice it small so it softens in 6 to 8 minutes.
Can I make them ahead?
They're best warm and crisp. Serve the filling hot or warm, and refrigerate any leftovers promptly.
