Apple Crisp

Yesterday my husband finished his last final for his undergraduate work! Wahoo. So as a reward I made him his favorite dessert – Apple Crisp. He loves the topping so I doubled it for his special treat. The following recipe is the original, double the topping if you would like.

Apple Crisp
Adapted from Nordstrom Friends and Family Cookbook
Topping
½ c firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 c white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
7 Tbsp flour (or ½ c minus 1 Tablespoon)
Pinch salt
½ c butter, cold, cut into small cubes
1 c old-fashioned rolled oats

Filling
5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into wedges (about 6 cups)
½ tsp cinnamon
1/3 c hot water
* You can use any type of apples you would like. I think Granny Smith are a perfect blend of holding their shape, having a slight bite, but still be soft like my husband likes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square or 9inch round baking pan.
To make the topping, in a bowl, stir together the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, and salt.


This is what whole nutmeg looks like

It comes in a container like this

This is how you grate it. It tastes so much better this way than the pre-ground stuff. (And is lots cheaper!)
Add the butter
and oats. (This kind of oats - not the quick cooking kind - they should look like little grains smooshed)
Using a pastry blender, fork, or your hands (my favorite), work in the butter until all the ingredients are well blended but not overmixed. (If using your hands work fast and don’t overmix is really important because you don’t want the warmth of your hands to melt the butter or cause a gluten to form from the flour.) Refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble the crisp, place the apples in the prepared pan

make it all pretty so people reading your blog are very impressed, realize that you still have half the apples to fit in, prepare a new pan, and just throw all the apples in.

toss with cinnamon, and spread evenly. Drizzle the water evenly over the apples.

Spread the topping over the fruit.

Bake the crisp until the topping is brown and crunchy and the apples are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
Serve hot, warm, or room temperature. Top with ice cream, whipped cream (my favorite), or half and half (my husband’s favorite).
Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm.