Apple Crisp Recipe: How To Make A Great Apple Dessert
Apple crisp is a term used in the United States as an apple dessert that is made of apples and has a slightly hard and crunchy crust on the top. In the United Kingdom it is called apple crumble and both are made with apples, butter, sugar or brown sugar, flour or oats, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. It isn’t a dish that was served to guests or at holidays but an apple crisp recipe makes a nice everyday peasant kind of dish that was served to the family.
There seems to be some sort of confusion with some other kinds of desserts made with apples. There is a dish called apple brown bettie that is made by layers of apples alternating with layers of sugar laiden bread or crackers and slathered with a sauce. Another dish uses drop biscuits on top of the apples and is called by several names including apple cobbler or apple grunt, slump or apple pandowdy.
Fannie Farmer’s Cook book that appeared in’96 was the first to publish the recipe. It was being presented on tables long before that. It is always made during the autumn of the year because that is the time when the apple crop is harvested. You can also make it with canned apples to bring that flavor to the table any time. Several variations may include fruits that are in season at the time you make it such as different berries or peaches.
The types of apples needed to make apple crisp are called cooking apples. They are tart and a little more firm than other apples and will stand up to baking and not get mushy. Varieties that make good cooking apples are Granny Smith, McIntosh, Jonathan, Northern Spye, and Winesap.
To make an easy apple crisp core, peel and slice six large apples and place them in the bottom of a greased nine inch square baking pan. In a bowl combine three fourths cupful of oatmeal, one half cup of packed brown sugar, one half cup all purpose flour, one half teaspoon of cinnamon, and six tablespoons of softened butter. You will need to use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter in like pie crust until it resembles a fine meal. Take the topping and spread over top of the apples and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the top gets brown. Cool for about 10 minutes then cut it into squares and serve it while it is still warm with some vanilla ice cream. If you prefer whipped cream, use that instead.
Another version adds some cheese to the ingredients. A traditional dish is apple pie and a slice of Cheddar cheese and this recipe is based upon that tradition. You will need 6 apples that have been cored, peeled and sliced; one third teaspoon of cinnamon, six teaspoons apple juice, one half stick of butter, three fourths cup sugar, one teaspoon lemon juice, one eight teaspoon salt, one half cup flour, and one fourth pound grated Cheddar cheese. Again the apples should be sliced and placed in a nine inch square baking dish. The cinnamon should be sprinkled over top and then the apple juice and lemon juice added. In a bowl the butter should be at room temperature and be cut into the flour with a pastry cutter or fork. The sugar and salt are added next and then the shredded cheese. The mixture should be crumbly and is placed over the apple mixture. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 40 minutes until it is bubbling and crust is crisp. Let this version cool a little but serve warm and you can serve with ice cream.
Sometimes you just don’t have any apples but there is a wealth of zucchini that you have picked from your garden. Zucchini can be used instead of apples to make a crisp that tastes like apple crisp. Take five cups of peeled and seeded zucchini and slice it about the size of an apple slice and you will also need to use a fourth cup of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, three fourths of a cup of apple cider. Put this all in a saucepan and bring it to the boiling point then lower the temperature and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until the zucchini becomes tender. Put it in a greased deep dish pie pan. Combine 6 tablespoons butter at room temperature, one fourth of a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon baking powder, a cup of flour and one half of a cup of brown sugar in a bowl. Use a pastry cutter or fork and cut the mixture so that it looks like fine meal then spoon it over the apple mixture. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven and serve it warm with ice cream. This tastes just like apple crisp.
Make apple crisp for your family and friends during the fall when apples are in season. They will love it and ask for it often. If they have had it before change things up by making it with cheese or with zucchini and it will amaze your family that a vegetable can taste that good. Apple crisp is cheap and easy to make and your family will look forward to it when the cool winds start to blow and the apple crop comes in.
Eric loves to bake apple crisp and this is why he has dedicated a whole website to recipe for apple crisp where you can learn how to make apple crisp.
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