I can’t think of a better way to spend a crisp fall day with family and friends than apple picking. A few days ago one of my best friends and her mom (who had just flown in from Hawaii) joined my family for a day of picking at our local apple orchard. My preschooler had a blast (as usual) running from tree to tree sampling the sweet and juicy goodness of McIntosh and Red Delicious to Rome Beauties and Galas.
Once we got home I got busy working on a number of our favorite apple recipes—-namely apple crisps. Over the years I have collected a variety of different apple crisp recipes but the two I’ve listed below are by far the easiest and tastiest.
The first recipe is one I recently added to my collection and comes courtesy of the Food Network (specifically Rachael Ray’s sister, of all people). I was enticed to jot down her Apple Crisp recipe because it calls for graham crackers—-my daughter’s favorite.
The second recipes if for a Classic Apple Crisp, one that I’ve been making since I was a child. My mom got it out of a Betty Crocker cookbook decades ago and it has been a family favorite ever since. It too is extremely easy to make, though it features a traditional oat topping rather than one with graham cracker crumbs.
APPLE CRISP WITH GRAHAM CRACKERS
Ingredients:
6 McIntosh apples, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup flour or fine graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 stick butter
Vanilla ice cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a 9 by 12 baking dish, combine apples, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar.
In a small bowl, mix flour or graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and butter together using the tines of a fork and your fingers, working until even, small crumbles form.
Sprinkle topping evenly over apples and bake 15 to 20 minutes until apples are just tender and topping is golden brown.
Serve with vanilla ice cream.
CLASSIC APPLE CRISP
Ingredients:
4 medium Honeycrisp, Gala or McIntosh apples, sliced (4 cups)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 ground nutmeg
Vanilla ice cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening.
Spread apples in pan.
In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients (except ice cream) until well mixed; sprinkle over apples.
Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Serve warm with ice cream.
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