Baked Apple Crisp
I absolutely love apple crisp, or wait, is it apple cobbler, or even apple crumble? I always get these names mixed up when I'm trying to describe that cinnamon apple-y, dessert with the crunchy crumb topping that I love so much. Well, I finally put that question into Google and got my answer.
According to the OChef website:
Crisps are a deep-dish fruit dessert made with a crumb or streusel topping and baked
Crumbles are a British dessert in which raw fruit is topped with a crumbly pastry mixture and baked. One reference says a crumble is like a crisp, but not as rich.
and
Cobblers are a spoon pie (more like a fruit stew with dumplings), in which biscuit dough is dropped onto the fruit before baking. The consensus is that the dish got its name because the lumps of cooked dough resembled cobblestones.
The site also lists some other fruit desserts and their meanings.
I adapted part of a Martha Stewart recipe along with my mom's recipe for apple pie to come up with my version of an Apple Crisp. By the way, Martha agrees that it is indeed a crisp! I topped mine with whipped cream. Yum!
For the Filling:
6 cups peeled, sliced applies - I used 3 Granny Smith and 3 Fuji
1 tbl fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
2 tbl flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbl butter
Grease two pie dishes and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all the ingredients except for the butter and divide into pie dishes. Dab each with bits of the butter.
For the Crisp Topping (Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook)
2 Sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, both sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until large clumps form. Using a rubber spatula, mix in oats.
Evenly distribute topping on both apple dishes, cover loosely with tin foil and bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees and then another 20 minutes uncovered. Keep watching during the last baking to make sure it doesn't burn. I placed a baking pan under each dish to catch any juice that bubbles over.
