Apple Crisp

I feel like Apple Crisp is always something that makes everyone smile.  Very hard to not make delicious and a happy dish that adds warmth to even the coldest of hearts.  Though always good, the main ingredients I feel make this dish are of course the apples, the spices, and oats.  Nuts make a nice touch too.

A very good variation from strictly apple crisp is to do an fruit crisp.  My favorite is one with apples, peaches, and blackberries.  Just adjust the fruit ingredients and still  follow directions below.

Time
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 45 minutes
Ready in: 1 hr 5 min


Servings
A 13 x 9 in Casserole or Baking dish's worth.  About 6-8 servings.


Ingredients
Topping
2 cups rolled oats
4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons of unsalted softened butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional: if you like a bit of crunch to your crisp)

*Side note* If you want to make this recipe a little bit healthier another good way to do it is adding 1/2 cup of maple syrup or honey to the mixture instead of large quantities of butter and sugar.  However, when adding sugars such as these to the topping-be careful-because if you add too much honey the topping becomes more of like a solid chunk of oats and things so the crisp can easily turn into more of an upside down apple cake.

Filling
4 medium Granny Smith Apples
2 McIntosh Apples (adds for a little bit of sweetness when paired with Granny Smith)
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I just kinda sprinkle around till it looks good)

Procedures
1. Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit
2. Peel and cut apples into 1 inch cubes.
3. Toss apples into baking pan or casserole dish, spray and mix with lemon juice.  This helps preserve the apples so they don't turn brown while you are doing other stuff.
4.  Add lemon zest and sugar mix around.
5. Proceed to making topping.
6.  In large bowl mix well the oats, flours, sugars, spices, and salt.
7. Beat in the butter.
8. Mix in walnuts with wooden spoon if adding.  Be careful not to over mix here or topping will be slightly mushy.
9.  Place topping mixture over apple mixture and bake for 40 minutes.
8.  If you like your apple crisp a little less mushy and more crunchy, take out here and let cool, otherwise proceed.
9.  Increase temperature to 400 Fahrenheit and bake until fruit bubbles, about 5 more min.
10. Take out of oven, let cool for a few minutes and serve warm.

*Goes well with vanilla ice cream on top and a glass of milk or white wine*