Making Fall Happen...

When I was a kid my favorite days to get out of bed were the days I smelled something baking.  It's not quite the same affect when you are the one doing the baking but there is something super wonderful about the smell of morning sweets.  I just happen to have a bag of organic local apples laying around so in hopes of recreating my childhood memories I woke up and made some apple crisp!  It was super easy and made our apartment smell like heaven for hours!  I dare you to try it this weekend, see how it makes you feel!

Topping:

½ cup butter, cool, cut into small chunks

½ cup all-purpose flour

⅓ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup old fashioned oats

Filling:

5 to 6 organic apples of several varieties, rinsed

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

½ cup granulated sugar

½ Tablespoon cinnamon

pinch all-spice

pinch nutmeg

pinch ground cloves

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon for the topping. Add the butter and working with your fingers, work the butter in until you have a chunky and sandy texture. Add the oats and work them into the butter mixture. Set aside in the refrigerator. This topping can be a bit messy and gloppy in appearance. Don’t worry the chunkier the better!

For the filling, core the apples and cut them into chunks. Put the apples in a large bowl. Sprinkle the apples with lemon juice and toss the apples. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, all-spice, nutmeg, cloves, and flour. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the apples and toss the apples with your hands or a large spoon to distribute the spices, flour and sugar.

Butter a baking dish, I used a 9x11 cake pan, place apple mixture in pan. Distribute the butter and oats mixture over the top of the apples as evenly as possible. Bake the crisp at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes. To determine doneness, you can stick a toothpick into the crisp and pierce a few individual chunks of apple. The toothpick should meet only slight resistance. Remove the crisp from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes.  

SERVE! I had a few helpings...let's face it, i have a sweet tooth! My last helping I warmed up and added a scoop of Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream to the top. So delicious. Enjoy!