I am not a huge dessert fan -- either the eating or the making of -- but there is something to be said about apple crisp. To me, this is the quintessential autumn dessert and, furthermore, reminds me of my grandmother.
Serve this warm, with either maple-walnut ice cream, vanilla in a snap, or homemade Bourbon whipped cream.
This recipe is for a 9"x9" pan.
5 apples, peeled and cored
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsps granulated sugar
8 Tbsps unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
1 cup rolled oats
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp apple cider
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 375.
In a bowl, mix together the flour, salt, the brown sugar and the two tablespoons of granulated sugar.
Add the butter, cut into small cubes, add toss with the mixture. Using a fork, or your hands, press the butter into the flour until the mixture is the texture of coarse sand. Add the oats, and use your hands squeeze the mixture together until clumps form. Put in the freezer while you prepare the apples.
Peel and core the apples and cut them into chunks. Add them to a 9" x 9" pan and toss with the lemon juice, the remaining sugar and the cinnamon.
Remove the oat mixture from the freezer and add to the top of the apples, spreading the mixture out to cover the surface of the apples.
Place in the oven and cook for fifty minutes.
After fifty minutes turn the oven off but let the apples take advantage of the residual heat for an additional fifteen minutes before removing.
You can eat this hot, but I prefer it warm.