Skip to main content

Apple Crisp

A New England classic made in proper New England style.  This one is an inherited recipe: I used to help my mom make huge pans of it for church dinners and special events.

If your crisp topping doesn't contain oats, it's wrong.  Sorry, I don't make the rules.

Ingredients:
  •  4-6 apples, depending on size
  • cinnamon and nutmeg to taste (at least 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 of nutmeg)
  • 1 cup oats
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 5 T butter (or butter alternative)
  • 1/2 c flour
The Process:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel the apples and cut into fairly thin slices.  Lay these out in a lightly greased pan.  (We recommend a 9x9: see the Pro Tips, below.)

In a mixing bowl, combine oats, sugar, flour, and spices.  (The recipe includes what I consider the low end of the spices.)

Add butter and combine using two butter knives OR a pastry cutter.  Or your fingers.  You want the topping to come together in crumbly pieces, but it won't form a dough. 

Spread topping over the apples.  It might be helpful to press it down gently, so it forms something like a crust.  Some apple should be visible peeking out.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the apples are soft and the topping is firm. 

Enjoy either hot or cold.  Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream optional.

Pro Tips:

You can double, triple, or halve this really easily.

We like lots of fruit in our crisp.  When my mom makes it, she spreads the apple out in a single layer on a shallow pan.  We've gone to the nine-by-nine pan so we get more lovely fall apple per bite.

Another modification: I have removed a step which calls for lightly tossing the apple slices in sugar and cinnamon.  I don't think they need it.  If you have incredibly tart apples, though, you may wish to do this.


Comments

Popular Posts

A Fall Double!

So, we've been on a short hiatus, partly because I was away on research.  (Karen did an admirable job of keeping the Queer Hipster Kitchen moving - there were doughnuts and a vegetarian shepherd's pie waiting when I got home!)  But we're back and the kitchen has been busy this week. When we travel, we are able to put a "vacation hold" on our amazing CSA, which lets us schedule a double share for a future week.  (This is an amazing feature and part of why we love this CSA.  Besides, you know, the incredible veggies.)  Due to unexpected travel, we had a forthcoming double.  I *thought* I'd scheduled it for the last week of the fall CSA, before we transition to the winter one.  But it turns out that, nope, I scheduled it for this past week. Surprise!  A double! I love a double, but it does take some planning.  Yes, that is five medium eggplant, two butternut squash, two cauliflower, two bundles of cooking greens, two bundles of kale, tw...

Kicking Coffee Up A Notch

On cold brew coffee I like coffee.  Not as much as Kara likes coffee, but I like it a lot.  I especially like iced coffee, year-round.  But I hate brewing hot coffee then diluting it with enough ice to get it cold (I prefer to use milk or a milk substitute to dilute my coffee).  So I bought a cold brew concentrate.  And that was fine, but I knew there had to be a better way. At some grocery stores and at one particular well-known coffee shop, you can find "kits" to make cold brew coffee.  Some places, especially that coffee shop, even offer cold brew coffee "machines."  Not being made of money and having a brain in my head, I decided I could do it much, much cheaper.  I remembered making "sun tea" with my mom, and figured I could do coffee almost the same way. The first time I DIYed my cold brew, I tried to make satchels using coffee filters and twine.  It didn't work great.  The grounds escaped and were a pain to try to get out ...

Pasta

Homemade pasta is easy - and you will never go back.  Our recipe comes from a cooking class taken at Sur la Table. Ingredients: 12 and 1/2 ounces of flour  (Pro Tip: use half "type 00" flour and half regular old all-purpose.) 4 eggs 1 tsp salt 1 T extra virgin olive oil Procedure: Combine flours and salt in a large kitchen bowl.   Create a well in the flour mixture; place 4 eggs and olive oil in the well. Using two fingers, swirl the eggs into the flour slowly until dough begins to form.  Stir from the center and work outward toward the sides.  When the dough is mixed, turn it out onto a floured surface.  Knead until flexible and smooth, but not sticky.  This should take about 5 minutes and you will need to add some small amounts of flour.   Shape the dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 20 minutes (up to an hour) at room temperature. To shape: Use a ben...