Best Apple Crisp

Best Apple Crisp

“How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.” - John Burroughs

After fully embracing pumpkin season, I have finally found time to take advantage of another flavor of the season: apples!  I don't think I've ever met an apple dessert that I didn't like and this recipe for apple crisp is my new all-time favorite.  Mr. Wishes spoke of this as the best apple crisp he has ever had....and he rarely, if ever, speaks in absolutes.

I never was quite sure of what the difference between a "crisp" and a "cobbler" was-- they always seemed pretty similar to me.  I decided it was high time I looked it up.  A crisp is "a dessert of fruit baked with a sweet crumbly topping" and a cobbler is "a deep-dish fruit pie with a thick top crust."  So after researching I came to the conclusion that perhaps the difference in a crisp and a cobbler is in the crust; a cobbler is more "pie-like" in it's topping, while the crisp has more of a crumbly nature for it's topping.  This concludes the educational portion of this post. :o)

So if you have a bag of apple-picking gems sitting around, put them to good use and make the best apple crisp ever!

Click on photos to enlarge.

INGREDIENTS:  
 

*Bake in an 8×8 baking dish or double the recipe and bake in a 9×13 dish*

Filling:

5 to 6 medium-size apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices. (About 7.5 cups)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1.5 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, well-softened
2/3 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
1/3 cup quick oats

PREPARATION:
 

Preheat the oven to 350. Generously grease an 8×8 baking pan with butter.

Place a layer of apple slices in the bottom of the pan and dust with sugar/cinnamon mixture. 

 Continue layering apples and dusting with cinnamon/sugar until it is all used up. Toss the apple mixture until evenly coated in cinnamon sugar. The apples should be just about to the top of the pan (they will cook down).

For the topping, place the flour, brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon and oats in a large bowl and stir well with a wooden spoon. Work the butter into the mixture with your fingertips until evenly distributed. Take one full handful of the topping and toss it into the sugared apple mixture. Spread the rest of the topping evenly over the apples.

Bake the crisp in the dish on a baking sheet on the center oven rack until the topping is crunchy and the apples are bubbling -- about 55-60 minutes.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

  Recipe Source:  joythebaker.com