Recipe: Apple Crisp

[spikedluv]

I made an apple crisp last night and it was the best tasting apple crisp I’ve made in a while. (Pip went back for seconds, which means we ended up eating half of the thing!) The apples were perfectly done (not too hard, not mushy) and the crisp was a perfect texture (aka, not hard enough to break your teeth), so I’ve decided to share the recipe.

I got this recipe from my mother, who got it from her mother, but I don’t know where it came from before that. It could’ve come from my great-grandmother or Betty Crocker.

Ingredients:

4 cup apples (peeled, sliced)

Crisp Topping:

2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup soft butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees; bake for 1/2 hour in 9x9 pan.

I’ve used different kinds of apples, but last night I used macintosh. I bought a bag of them, so they were small-medium sized. I’ve never measured my sliced apples by the cup, I just slice up enough to fill up the 9x9 pan, which usually (and did last night) works out to about 8 apples.

I sprayed the pan with Pam and sliced the apples directly into it, then I made the crisp topping. I melt the butter more than soft and the topping turns out crumbly enough for me, but if you want it more crumbly then keep it soft, not melted. Last night I stirred in the sugar and cinnamon (I didn’t use nutmeg last night), then the flour, then the oatmeal. Once the oatmeal has been incorporated, I sprinkle the topping over the apples with my hand, making sure to get it in the corners.

And did I mention, I DOUBLE the crisp topping because we like extra crisp, so it’s up to you whether you do that or not.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil so the crisp doesn’t get hard as a rock and bake for one half hour. Check the apples with a knife and leave in longer if they need to bake more. (Last night I turned the oven off and left the pan in for an additional fifteen minutes.)

Serve with vanilla ice cream!

This is a recipe I’ve had for years, long before I needed to start cooking/baking GF. To make it GF I substituted the flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour in the blue bag; after trying a couple different types, I like this one the best, especially for baking) and the oatmeal (I use Bob’s Red Mill Quick Cooking Oats). [Quaker now makes a GF oatmeal, but when they first came out I checked the price and Bob’s Red Mill was cheaper. Also, if you need rolled oats and have a Trader Joe’s near you, you can get a 32oz bag for $3.99, which is the cheapest I’ve found.]

Comments

[nerakrose]

this sounds delicious! i'll have to try it, the last crumble recipe i tried didn't work out as well as i'd have liked. it's rhubarb season very soon around here, so i might just do that instead of apple, though :D

i also always double the crumble because i like there to be lots of crunch ;D

[spikedluv]

Love rhubarb! Though I've never tried it with this recipe. If you do try it, I'd love to hear how it turns out.

Doubling the topping is the only way to go! *g*

[nerakrose]

i will report back when i do! just now anxiously waiting for rhubarb to turn up in the street markets. :D

damn right :D

[monanotlisa]

Yes! My to-go crumble/crisp recipe is really similar. Oats are key, as is butter (we skip the nutmeg).

[spikedluv]

The nutmeg is too much sometimes, which is why I tend to skip it, too.

[ironymaiden]

I use the kitchn gluten-free crisp topping recipe and really love it. it uses oats processed into flour for the flour component (i use a coffee grinder for making GF flours, it's super-quick) and it's always been a hit.

Dairy-Free Option

[runpunkrun]

This looks very similar to my crisp recipe, which did come from Betty Crocker. :D

I've made it dairy free by using 1/4 cup of coconut oil or avocado oil, and it works great.

Re: Dairy-Free Option

[spikedluv]

I was wondering what people would use to make it dairy-free. Do you taste the coconut? Also, I didn't know they made avocado oil. Do you use that for just about anything you'd use oil/butter for?

Re: Dairy-Free Option

[runpunkrun]

I used unrefined coconut oil, so you can taste it, but I've always liked the taste of coconut and oats together. It reminds me of a cereal I used to eat as a kid. You can use refined coconut oil if you don't like the taste.

I use avocado oil in all my baking and some of my cooking. It has virtually no flavor and a high smoke point. So it doesn't make your cookies taste weird, and you can also use it to fry an egg. It is, of course, expensive when compared to other oils, but it's one of the few I can tolerate.