My Fall Apple Crisp
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Finally. Finally, someone found the off switch for the searing heat that has been tormenting the Midwest this summer. It’s been quite tiresome, I’ll tell you, and about the only good thing I can say about it is that it’s about over. Fall is in the air, bringing a bit of a cool-down, and it’s never, ever felt so good. Ever. The other good thing I can say is that it’s apple season! Oh, yeah.
A couple of weekends ago, my daughter and I drove to Colorado to visit my son, daughter-in-law and the cutest 6-month old grandson on this planet. And not only did I get my Grandma fix, but I got to raid their apple trees that were just loaded with fruit. Evidently this has been a very good apple year just about everywhere. So, just in case you, too, have loaded apple trees or are maybe just ready to celebrate the onset of fall, I thought I’d share my apple crisp recipe with you.
More than apple pie, or maybe even any other dessert, a good apple crisp can bring tears to my eyes. I try not to get too emotional with a bowl of it in front of me, but sometimes, you know, you just gotta feel it. Apple crisp is where it’s at. And this is my recipe. I’ve been making it for years, with a tweak here and there, but honestly, this is my go-to fall dessert.
I prefer my crisp with a scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt, as you can see from that photo up there, and I’ve recently come up with a hybrid ice cream/yogurt recipe that has me pretty excited. I hope to have it for you really soon. In the meantime, if, like me, you’re in the mood to celebrate the beginning of fall, I can think of no better way than this. Here’s my recipe…
MY FALL APPLE CRISP
Click here for a printable recipe
I like to use a combination of apples for this crisp. Any baking apples will do, but my favorites are golden delicious, macintosh, pippin or granny smith. By combining different apples, you will get a nice balance of apple textures and sweetness/tartness.
For The Filling:
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
6 large or 7 medium baking apples (see note above)
¼ cup water or apple cider (or a little more if your apples aren’t real juicy)
For the Topping:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
¾ cup brown sugar
Lightly butter a 2-quart baking dish. If your baking dish is shallow, you might want to double the topping amounts.
For the streusel, combine the flour, salt and brown sugar in a bowl and then stir in the butter, pressing the topping together with your hands to form a few small clumps. Place this in the freezer while you make the filling.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Peel, core and cut the apples into 1/8-inch slices and place in a large bowl.
Mix together the sugars, flour and spices in a small bowl. Sprinkle the dry mixture over the sliced apples and toss gently with a rubber spatula until well mixed. Add the water, tossing again just to combine. Spoon the filling into the prepared baking pan.
Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the apples and place on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until golden brown, crispy and bubbly. Remove from oven to a cooling rack. Cool for 20 minutes before serving.
Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of loosely whipped cream.
Serves 6 to 8
