Apple Crisp

Autumn is close at hand, and the farm stands are filling with the first apples of the season. There are 24 basic varietals of apple grown in “upstate” New York. I shan’t go into laborious and boring detail but will highlight several and their uses.

I must give acknowledgment, to our real estate agent who gifted us with a set of ramekins for our one-year anniversary in the house. (Thanks Jennifer)

About Apple varieties:

Braeburn, Originally from New Zealand, Braeburn apples are what you think of when you conjure the smell of autumn. Their flesh is sweet and tart, with underlying hints of nutmeg and cinnamon.

Cortland, They’re a little bit tart and have a wonderfully crisp, finely grained flesh that will help your pies keep their shape.

Empire, this apple stands at the intersection of tart and sweet, crisp and juicy. Calling the Red Delicious and McIntosh apples its parents, it’s an apple designed to satisfy every eater, no matter their preference. Enjoy it out of hand or cook with it—it’s as irresistible sliced raw.

Honeycrisp, As their name implies, Honeycrisp apples are sweet with firm, crisp flesh, and flavors that aren’t too overwhelming.

About Crisps, and Crumbles, and Cobbler, and Bakes.

A crisp is a dessert made with a streusel topping.

In baking and pastry making, streusel is a crumbly topping of flour, butter, and sugar that is baked on top of muffins, bread, pies, and cakes. Some modern recipes add spices and chopped nuts. The mixture can also be layered or ribboned in the middle of a cake.

A crumble is a dessert of baked chopped fruit topped with rolled oats and brown sugar.

A cobbler is a dessert consisting of a fruit (or less commonly savory) filling poured into a large baking dish and covered with a batter, biscuit, or dumpling.

A bake is a generic term for all of the above.

Under these definitions, this is, in fact, an apple crisp. Please place the pitch forks and torches back in their respective holders.

From Wikipedia:

Ingredients usually include cooked apples, butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and often oats and brown sugar, ginger, and/or nutmeg. One of the most common variants is apple rhubarb crisp, in which the rhubarb provides a tart contrast to the apples.

Many other kinds of fruit crisps are made. These may substitute other fruits, such as peaches, berries, or pears, for the apples.

Apple Crisp

An autumn classic desert. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American, European
Servings 4
Calories 500 kcal

Equipment

  • 4 ea 1 cup Ramekins

Ingredients
  

  • 4 ea Apples Washed, peeled, chopped
  • 3/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
  • 2 tsp Cinnamon Use Ceylon Cinnamon, REAL STUFF
  • 1 tsp Ground Cardamon
  • 1 tsp Ground Ginger
  • 1 tsp Lemon Juice
  • 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg Or grate it fresh
  • 1/2 Cup Oats Old Fashioned
  • 1/2 Cup AP Flour
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract Use the good stuff
  • 1 tbsp Bourbon Good Stuff
  • 1/2 Cup Butter Real Stuff, ice cold and diced

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Butter the ramekins well, and set aside.
  • In a small bowl mix all the dry spices.
  • In a medium bowl, mix apples, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 the spice mix, bourbon, vanilla and the lemon juice.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, add the oats, the rest of the spices, flour, and butter.
  • Cut the butter into the topping mix with a pastry cutter. Looking for a very coarse, pea-like texture here.
  • Fill each ramekin 3/4 full with apple filling, and top with the oat mixture.
  • Bake for 45-60 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
  • Cool for 5 minutes, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and serve.

Notes

A basic “crisp” recipe, one can use other fruits, peaches in summer, pears, etc.
I’ve added my usual roguechef twist with the inclusion of a shot of bourbon in the filling.  One can macerate the apples overnight for a more prominent taste infusion.  One can also add raisins for a taste / texture difference
 

Nutrition

Calories: 500kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 4gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 418mgPotassium: 166mgFiber: 3gSugar: 42gVitamin A: 713IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 91mgIron: 2mg
Keyword Apple, Baked
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

  Filed under: Autumn, Baked, Dessert, Global, Vegetarian, Winter

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