1. Prepare the Oven and Dish

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Set out the tortillas so they are ready once the filling has cooled enough to handle.

Measure the filling and sauce ingredients separately. This is especially useful for the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, water, and vanilla, which appear in more than one part of the recipe.

2. Peel and Dice the Apples

Wash, peel, core, and dice the apples into small, similar pieces. Measure about five cups of prepared apple. Toss with the lemon juice while preparing the skillet.

Small pieces are easier to enclose in the rolls and soften more evenly. If using two apple varieties, keep the pieces similar in size and check both for tenderness during cooking.

3. Cook the Filling

Melt two tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the apples, quarter cup brown sugar, one and a half teaspoons cinnamon, optional nutmeg, two tablespoons water, and a small pinch of salt.

Cook, stirring occasionally, for about eight to twelve minutes, until the apples are almost as tender as you want them in the finished dessert. If the pan dries before the apples soften, add water a tablespoon at a time. If the apples release a lot of liquid, let some evaporate before thickening.

4. Thicken the Apple Juices

Mix two teaspoons cornstarch with one tablespoon cold water until smooth. Stir into the simmering apples and cook for another one to two minutes, stirring gently, until the juices look glossy and cling to the fruit.

The mixture should be moist but not swimming in thin liquid. Remove from the heat and stir in one teaspoon vanilla. Let cool for about ten minutes, until warm enough to handle comfortably without softening the tortillas excessively.

5. Make the Sauce

In a small saucepan, combine four tablespoons butter, half a cup brown sugar, half a cup water, half a teaspoon cinnamon, and a small pinch of salt. Warm over medium heat, stirring until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.

Bring to a gentle simmer for about two minutes, then remove from the heat and stir in half a teaspoon vanilla. The sauce will be relatively thin at this stage. Do not keep reducing it until thick like candy syrup; baking will concentrate it further.

6. Warm and Fill the Tortillas

Warm the tortillas briefly if needed to make them flexible. Divide the apple filling into eight roughly equal portions. Place a portion slightly below the center of each tortilla, keeping a border around the edges.

Depending on how much the apples cooked down, each portion will be roughly a third to half a cup. Use the actual cooked filling to divide evenly rather than forcing a fixed volume into every tortilla. Save any excess that would make the rolls difficult to close.

7. Roll and Arrange

Fold the sides inward slightly, then roll the tortilla around the filling. Keep the roll snug without pulling hard enough to split the wrapper. Arrange seam-side down in the prepared dish.

The rolls can sit close together, but do not crush them. If your tortillas are much larger or your dish unusually narrow, use another suitable dish rather than forcing a second layer of rolls on top.

8. Add the Sauce

Stir the warm sauce and pour evenly over the rolls, letting some settle between them and around the bottom of the dish. Spoon a little over any very dry exposed sections.

You do not need to submerge the tortillas. The exposed upper surfaces can become lightly golden, while the lower sections soften in the syrup. Too much additional liquid would make the dish unnecessarily soggy.

9. Bake Until Hot and Golden

Bake uncovered for approximately twenty-five to thirty minutes, until the filling is hot, the sauce bubbles around the edges, and the exposed tortilla surfaces are lightly golden. Begin checking earlier if using a dark metal dish or thin tortillas.

If the tops darken before the center is hot, cover loosely with foil and continue baking. If reheating an assembly made with refrigerated filling, allow additional time as needed rather than assuming it will match the freshly assembled batch.

10. Rest and Serve

Let the dish stand for about ten minutes. The sauce will settle and thicken somewhat as it cools. Use a broad spatula or spoon to lift each roll with some of the sauce.

Serve warm with optional ice cream, whipped cream, or nuts. Caramel sauce is an extra rather than a necessity; taste the dessert first because the brown sugar sauce already provides plenty of sweetness.