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Classic Apple Crisp

Name: Classic Apple Crisp
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Ingredients: 10 cups peeled, sliced Granny Smith apples (about 5 medium apples); 1/4 cup white sugar; 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar; 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 heaping teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; 1 cup rolled oats; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 1 cup packed brown sugar; 1/4 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; 1 cup chopped pecans (optional); 1/2 cup salted butter, melted

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October 13, 2018

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So Sara and I have been at this blogging thing for 7 1/2 years now and I just realized we don’t have an apple crisp recipe here. We have a peach crisp and a blackberry-peach crisp and in our second book, we have a pear-apple-cranberry crisp (and I actually used this apple crisp recipe as a base for that recipe.) But we don’t have a straight-up old-school classic apple crisp recipe.

That changes now.

Apple crisp is maybe my favorite fall dessert, both to make and to eat. Easier than pie (plus, let’s face it, a crumbly oatmeal/brown sugar/cinnamon topping is better than pie crust. At least it is for me.) Feeds a crowd. Leftovers hold up like Helen Mirren in an evening gown. And I’m pretty sure there’s nothing better than cold vanilla ice cream slowly melting into warm spiced apples and crumbly, buttery topping. In fact, my when I made this for my kids, it was their first apple crisp experience and they went from excitement (“What is that smell in the oven?!”) to trepidation (“What is this stuff in my bowl?!”) to “This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten!” Although my 3-year-old told me if he ate all of his, then he could have that last sour Skittle in the bag on the counter, like he was bribing me or something. Go ahead, buddy, have that sour Skittle–I’m eating all the apple crisp.

To get started here, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13″ dish with non-stick cooking spray (or grease it with your greasing agent of choice).

Before we even start talking about the filling, we need to talk about prepping your apples. If you make any apple-y desserts ever where the apples have to be peeled and sliced, you need an apple peeler corer. Even if it sits in your cupboard 364 days out of the year, for the love of apple pie, you need one. Chances are if you have one, you’ll use it more than 1 day a year for the sheer pleasure of peeling, coring and slicing an apple in about 15 seconds flat. I don’t know how my pioneer ancestors/parents/I ever lived without one. This is serious.

To make the filling, you’re going to need about 5 medium-large Granny Smith apples, some white sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie seasoning (see my note at the end of the recipe), and a couple tablespoons of all-purpose flour.

Place the sliced apples in a 9×13″ pan.

Mix together the remaining filling ingredients and sprinkle over the apples, then toss to evenly coat the apples. Set aside.

To make the topping, you’ll need some rolled oats, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, butter, baking soda, baking powder, and more pumpkin pie spice. Also, if you’re pecan-inclined, throw those in, too. I am generally not a lover of nuts in my desserts, but I don’t mind them here.

Toss together all the topping ingredients except for the butter until well-mixed. Drizzle the butter over the mixture and stir to combine. Evenly distribute the topping over the apple mixture.

Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes. When done baking, serve warm…

with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

NOTE ABOUT PUMPKIN PIE SPICE: If you don’t have any pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own by mixing together 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger, 3/4 teaspoons ground cloves. Combine and store in an airtight container and use as needed.