Sunday, March 22: Apple Crisp

This is my very favorite recipe for apple crisp. I make it several times throughout the year, including Thanksgiving, and it never lasts more than a day or two. It has the BEST crumbly topping, and somehow makes its own caramel sauce while bubbling away in the oven. So good! See original recipe from Tastes Better from Scratch here (my adaptation is below).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

First, make the topping. In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup AP flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup brown sugar (the recipe calls for light brown sugar, but I used dark brown sugar today and liked it even more this way!), 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and 1/3 cup unsalted butter (cut into small pieces). You can use a pastry cutter to combine, but I usually just use my hands, tossing everything together and then squishing the butter into the flour and sugar into a crumbly consistency with some larger clumpy pieces that stick together when you squeeze them — this will make for nice big pieces of crumb topping! Once combined, put the bowl in the fridge to chill while you prepare the filling.

Now, make the filling. Peel 3-4 large Granny Smith apples and cut into 1/2-3/4 inch slices or so (I like my slices on the thicker side so they keep some texture after baking); add to a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, stir together 3 TB melted butter and 2 TB AP flour into a paste. Add 3 TB room-temperature milk (if it’s too cold, it could cause the melted butter to clump up and look unappetizing — I learned this the hard way — though it will still turn out just fine once baked if this happens!). Whisk until smooth, then add 1 TB lemon juice and 1/2 tsp vanilla and whisk again very well. Finally, stir in 1/4 brown sugar (again, the recipe calls for light brown sugar but I loved the results using dark brown), 1 tsp cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Pour this mixture over the sliced apples and toss to coat.

To make the crisp, add the apple and sauce mixture to a 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the apples (I squish some of the topping together into larger clumps, making a mix of different sized crumbles). Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and set, and apples are bubbling away. Let apple crisp sit and cool at least 10 minutes, or else you’ll have a liquidy mess when you scoop into it. Letting it sit will let the sauce set a bit into a thick, caramely nectar of the gods.