OK so this is a little late...
We made our annual trip to Huber Farm back in October during the kids' fall break. It was a little colder than we would have liked, but we were determined to get our yearly haul of apples, pumpkins, and wine! So we bundled up and braved the wind, rain, and outright cold.
We picked Winesap, Golden Delicious, and Fuji apples. The Fuji were perfect eatin' apples... sweet and tart, crisp and juicy. The Golden Delicious were like a dessert. If Jolly Ranger could mimic that flavor... now that would be a good apple candy. And finally, Winesap... we'd picked them before and while their tart flavor lends them to baking they aren't very juicy and make rather dry pies, crisp, etc. But we had to have some cooking apples because that's the sweetest part of fall... the bevy of baking.
I've never met a baked apple concoction that I didn't like. Mom's apple pie... delicious! Baked apples on pancakes... a delight! Apple cake... apple cookies... apple sauce.... apple butter... it's all food for my soul. Mom made apple dumplins this year for the first time and I was in heaven! How could I have gone 33 years and not had apple dumplins? (Mom and I had a talk about that!)
But there's one apple dessert that I felt could be improved upon. Apple crisp. It never made me swoon the way other apple treats had. Don't get me wrong... I would never turn down apple crisp... come to think of it, no one in their right mind should ever turn down ANY dessert, but it lacked a little something. With a basketful of apples, a serious craving for something sweet, and a weenie roast to attend... it was the perfect time to find just the right recipe.
And that I did! Here it is:
12 cups of peeled, cored, sliced apples (tart cooking apples taste best)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup water (depending on type of apples you use - a dry apple will need the full amount, a juicy apple will need less)
Place the apples in a deep 9x13 baking dish. Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle evenly over the apples. Pour the water evenly over the apples. Set aside while you prepare the topping.
2 cups of regular oats
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter (yes, two sticks!)
Combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and soda. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumby. If desired, you can add 1-1/2 cups of chopped pecans to the topping. Crumble over the apples.
Bake at 350 about 45 minutes, until the topping is browned and crispy.
The topping is truly crisp; almost hard. But that was part of the problem with other apple crisps... the topping just faded away and had lousy texture. The apples are sweet, but not too sweet and there's good balance. I eat it without ice cream, but some wouldn't have it any other way. Fresh whipped cream would be good too.
Here's some more pictures of the fun we had, in spite of the cold...
