Friday, March 22, 2013

Baked Apples

One of my most recent pregnancy cravings has been apple crisp. Warm apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, how can you go wrong? It reminds me a little bit of when I was a kid and my mom would make homemade cinnamon applesauce.  The ultimate comfort food.
I have been making them big - 9x13 pan size. Today, I do believe I stumbled upon the perfect "crisp" combination. I am going to share the joy, because everyone should get to smell that fresh-baked apple smell wafting out of their oven. And I highly recommend topping with a little whipped cream.
Vanilla Apple Crisp 
9-10 large apples of your choice (I used Fujis because we had them)
1-2 tbls lemon juice
Cinnamon to preference
1-1/2 sticks of butter, melted (extra points if you brown the butter)
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Peel, core and slice all apples. Combine in a bowl with cinnamon and lemon juice. If you use tart apples like Granny Smiths, mix in some white sugar depending on how sweet you prefer. Pour apple mixture into 9x13 baking dish.
2. Combine all crisp ingredients (butter through vanilla) until a loose but thoroughly moistened crumbly mixture appears.
3. Pour evenly on top of apples and loosely pat it down.
4. Bake for about 35 minutes until crust is firm and a little brown and apples are tender. Note that some apples bake more quickly than others. Fujis, for example, tend to need more time while Granny Smiths turn into applesauce before you know it.
Note: This makes for a pretty crisp-heavy dessert.  If you like more than a 50/50 balance of apples and crust, you might want to use more like 12-14 apples.

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