Apple Crisp and a crisp, fall morning—just what we’ve been waiting for

I had a new cookbook and was rarin’ to go with some new ideas. I didn’t have to look further than the first recipe—a highly simple version of Apple Crisp . . . and me still with an abundance of fresh apples on hand. What’s more, these apples didn’t have to be peeled—the most time-draining portion of many apple recipes. Just wash, core, slice, and place in the dish.

The cookbook was from the Southwest Chili Peppers Nutrition Task Force and was designed to instruct people in some of the most basic ways of preparing fresh fruit and vegetables. For people who know that fresh is best but don’t know where to start, this colorful, spiral-bound volume presents one illustrated, highly simple yet interesting recipe suggestion for each item of produce.

I loved the simplicity of this Apple Crisp—loved the outcome, as well, but found I needed to increase the cooking time beyond what was specified. Likely my apple slices were a little too thick and just needed some extra oven time, but after the recommended 20 minutes, they weren’t tender. I merely covered the baking dish with a sheet of foil and let the apples steam without over-browning the topping. An extra 10-15 minutes gave them the doneness they needed. Then I removed the foil for the last few minutes so the Crisp could get . . . well, crisp.

What a good little bowl of breakfast bounty (I didn’t wait for the dessert part) on this “Fall-Seems-Here-to Stay” morning! Warmed and served with a sliver of sugar-free whipped topping crowning it, it got a Friday morning kicked off well.

Apple Crisp

4-5 medium apples (I used a combination of Golden Delicious and Gala)

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup quick-cooking oatmeal

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a square pan. Remove the cores from the apples. Slice the apples. (Leaving the apples unpeeled adds to the nutritional value and is recommended, but some cooks might prefer to remove the peel as well.) Spread the sliced apples on the bottom of the pan. Cut the butter into small pieces and place in medium-sized bowl. Add the oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Using two knives cut the margarine into the mixture until it looks like small crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the apples. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. (May need to bake longer, with a sheet of aluminum foil over the top, for at least 10 more minutes to be sure apples are tender. If you find you need to cover because of increased cooking time, be sure to uncover for a few minutes at the end to allow the topping to get crisp.) Makes about 6 servings.