I
can't believe it's October already - and it's really feeling like fall here in
Michigan! I will admit that this month is my favorite month of the whole year -
I love the light, the weather, and it kind of kicks off apple season for me :-)
I start seeing all the yummy apples out there - they may have been out in
September, but for some reason, they don't make it on my radar until October, along
with pumpkins...but that's another story! It's the time of year I start digging
out my apple recipes - pies, crisps and sauce! But Kris has us covered for the
sauce this go around - which is good, because I don't really have a recipe, I
just wing it, so I'll be happy to have one!
I've
tried what feels like a million crisp recipes, and I don't think I ever made
the same one twice until I came across this one - this one has earned a
permanent spot in my "book"! It's yummy and easy, but I won't pretend
it's totally guilt-free, in fact, I'm pretty sure that it's heavy in the guilt,
lol. But it's not made all the time, so it's a treat - and I am sure that it
could easily be slimmed down with a few swaps or lessen the butter aspect, lol,
IF you wanted to ;-)
The filling consists of peeled sliced apples, flour, cinnamon, sugar and
butter.
Add the flour, sugar and cinnamon to the sliced apples in a large bowl. I
like to mix up the dry ingredients in a little bowl first then toss them with
the apples, it mixes up better.
Toss the apples with the sugar, cinnamon and flour.
Scoop the apple mixture into a 11x7-in. baking pan. Dot the apple
mixture with butter, cut in cubes. Now it's time to mix up the topping...
The topping ingredients consist of granulated sugar, flour, butter,
nutmeg, baking powder and a slightly beaten egg.
First, combine the flour, sugar, nutmeg and baking powder until well
blended. Cut the butter into cubes....
Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture...
Cut
the butter into the flour until it resembles crumbs...
Mix
the slightly beaten egg into the flour-butter mixture, stir until moistened.
Spread the topping mixture evenly over the apple filling.
Bake
at 375° F for 40-45 minutes until the topping brown and the apples are tender. You
can also sub the fresh apples for a couple cans of apple pie filling if you
want, would make it even speedier, lol. I like to serve it with ice cream or if
I have some, I've been known to pour a little bit of heavy cream over my
serving ;-)
And
now, the recipe:
Easy Apple Crisp
Preheat
oven to 375° F
Filling:
6 c
thinly sliced, peeled apples
1/2
c sugar
1
tbsp flour
1/4
tsp cinnamon
2
tbsp butter
Topping:
1 c
flour
1
tsp. baking powder
1/2
c butter, cubed
1
egg, lightly beaten
Combine
apples, sugar, flour and cinnamon in a large bowl. Transfer to an 11x7-in. baking pan, dot with butter.
Combine
flour, sugar, baking powder and nutmeg in another large bowl. Cut in butter
until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in egg just until moistened;
sprinkle over filling.
Bake
uncovered for 40-45 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are
tender. Serve warm.
Happy
Fall everyone!!
from Kris B
from Kris B
The truth is that I have an apple for lunch every day, winter, spring, summer, and fall. Call it habit, routine, or just plain lack of imagination, it is what it is. Even though I eat them year round, there is something about apples in the fall that is different. I’m not sure what it is. They are just different, prettier and more flavorful. Maybe its that fall is my favorite season and its not really the apples but that I have a better attitude toward everything during this time of year. Who knows.
Because my perception is that the apples are better during the fall, one of the things that I always do with fall apples is make applesauce.. I make it and freeze enough to last a good part of the year.
I don’t remember my maternal grandmother being a cook as far as meals go, but I do remember that every time that we would go visit, she always pulled some homemade applesauce out of the freezer. She always had an ample supply and I always looked forward to eating it! As a young child, I was interested only in eating the applesauce, not in how it was made. As a teenager, I wasn't interested in cooking or any kind of domesticity. And, I was not as close to my grandmother during these years. Looking back on those times, I am now fairly sure that she was an alcoholic. She died when I was twenty. I give all of these details to explain why I never got her applesauce recipe that I loved so much, something that makes me a little sad.
Once I matured (quite) a bit and had children of my own, I then wanted to know how to make applesauce. My mom bought me a food mill and told me the basics of how to make it. It never tasted like my grandmother’s. I kept making applesauce, as well as all of the other baby food, for my girls. I knew that it was missing something, but they didn’t.
When I first started making the applesauce, I was trying to be a purist, no sugar. It was plenty sweet without any sugar. Then I thought that maybe sugar was the missing ingredient. I added a little white sugar to the recipe. Nope. That wasn’t it. Then I tried the addition of various spices - cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, a little allspice. Though the spices were good, they weren’t what was missing either.
Well then, it has got to be the type of apples that I am using. Again, I tried different varieties and combinations of different varieties. I did come to the realization that using a mixture of apple types does make better applesauce, but even that still did not yield applesauce like my grandmother made. Then came a significant realization; her applesauce was always a lot darker than any that I had ever made. Even trying lots of different kinds of apples, I never got anything as dark as hers.
And then one day it hit me. I wondered of she used brown sugar instead of white sugar. I made a batch using brown sugar and SUCCESS! Adding brown sugar and cinnamon resulted in applesauce that looked and tasted just like that that my grandmother made. Now, this is how I make it every time. Because I often eat it for dessert, I don’t worry too much about the added sugar. I know how much I used and it is far less than most any other dessert choices that I could make. Honestly, it is not that health merits of homemade applesauce that are foremost on my mind when I make it, but rather its ability to transport me back to my childhood and the good memories of my grandmother.
As I think about making applesauce, it involves more of a process rather than a recipe. I’ll share my process. You will probably want to adapt it and make it your own. But I must say, it is pretty darn good just like this!
INGREDIENTS
18-20 apples (I try to use a mixture of gala, fuji, granny smith, and yellow delicious, but really almost any kinds will do.)
The juice of one lemon
1/2 Cup brown sugar
Cinnamon and/or other spices to taste
Because I use a food mill, I don’t peel or core the apples before cooking. I put them in a stock pot with enough water to cover the bottom layer and cook them over medium heat for 30 minutes or until they are soft.
Once cooked, remove the apples from the pot using a slotted spoon.
Place them in the food mill in small batches. Run the apples through the food mill.
Place all of the apple sauce in a large bowl. If your applesauce seems to thick and “dry,” add a tablespoon or two of the cooking liquid. Do this in small increments until you achieve your desired texture and consistency. This is necessary if you end up with apples that are not juicy.
If you do not have a food mill, peel and core the apples before cooking. Cook in the same manner as stated above. Puree the apples in a food processor. Or, if you prefer a chunkier style applesauce, use a potato masher. In this realm, I am a purist and prefer to use the food mill. Plus, I have no knife skills, so peeling apples with a knife is equivalent to one of Dante’s rings of hell as far as I am concerned!
Once all of you apples have been run through the food mill, pureed in the food processor, or mashed with the potato masher, add the brown sugar, lemon juice and spices to taste.
It may take a few batches to figure out the proportions that you like best. I probably use 1 heaping teaspoon of cinnamon. Maybe? I don’t know exactly. Because I always use the same bowl, the “correct” amount of cinnamon is to generously sprinkle it over the top of the applesauce in the bowl.
The applesauce can be eaten either hot or cold. I definitely prefer it cold!
I freeze my applesauce in 2 cup freezer safe plastic containers.
If properly sealed, they will last in the freezer for upwards of a year. Once thawed and in the fridge, it should probably be eaten within 5-7 days. One of the pluses to using sugar is that it acts as a preservative.
If you are an applesauce maker, I’d love to hear about your process!
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