The Recipe I've Made the Most Often for 7 Years: Harvest Apple Crisp

Which is probably part of the reason why I never lost those first year 'happy newlywed' pounds :) I'm not a big pie fan....unless it's a graham cracker crust with a chocolate filling...but, I LOVE baked fruit desserts--especially crumbs/crips. This is the most amazing homey apple crisp recipe--by far the best apple crisp I've ever had. I prefer to use salted butter and yes, I have huge success using light butter. I've probably made it 15-20 times over the last 7 years. No joke.

In order to really appreciate this dessert...there's no denying it, you MUST MUST MUST serve it with vanilla bean ice-cream. Edy's makes a fantastic reduced fat version.....thank you to the Corpening sisters for one of my favorite recipes EVER! Sometimes, the best recipes are the traditional ones....

HARVEST APPLE CRISP  

adapted from Bride and Groom First and Forever Cookbook, by Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford

Serves about 6-8

Filling:

5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces (I substituted a couple Honey Crisp)

½ cup sugar
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
contents ot 1 vanilla bean, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
½ tsp. kosher salt

Streusel Topping:

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened or melted
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ tsp. kosher salt
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup rolled oats or quick-cooking oats

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350°F.

 
Combine the apples, granulated sugar, lemon juice, contents of 1 vanilla bean, cinnamon, nutmeg and kosher salt in an 8-inch square glass baking dish and mix well. Set aside.

Mix the melted butter with the brown sugar and kosher salt. Add the flour and oatmeal and stir until just incorporated. Do not overwork. Crumble the mixture evenly over the apple filling.

Put the baking dish on a baking sheet and bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, 50 to 60 minutes.

Let cool for about 10 minutes and serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream.