Apple Crisp
By Melissa Pitts
Apple crisp is one of my favorite recipes for apples during fall. Here in New York grocery stores just have huge boxes of freshly picked apples from upstate and they are dirt cheap! Apple crisp recipes are pretty basic and essentially very similar, but there are also more developed recipes such as adding chopped pecans to the topping. This is my favorite, basic recipe and it uses whatever apples look good- while others limit you to Granny Smith or Jonagold or whatever. What makes this recipe just a little more special is that I use basically pumpkin pie spice mixture: cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. If you have the mixture already that works, if not you can make your own spice blend like I do and that way you can control how much of each you like. Enjoy this apple crisp with vanilla or caramel ice cream!
Cook Time: 55-65 minutes
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 pounds apples: any variety will work, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3/4 cup flour plus 4 tablespoons
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
- 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, mix together ¾ cup flour, brown sugar, salt, and 2 tablespoons sugar. Blend the butter into the mixture until it forms pea size lumps. Add oats and mix well. Transfer to freezer to chill while you prepare apples.
- In another large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla extract and remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar and 4 tablespoons flour. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
- Transfer apples to a buttered shallow 2-quart baking dish, and sprinkle with topping mixture. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until golden and bubbling, 55 to 65 minutes. Let cool about 10-15 minutes and serve with your favorite ice cream!
