Apple and Pear Crisp - Apple Picking Spoils!

After spending the day at Smolak Farms picking apples, we had loads of apples to put to good use in the kitchen.  That is, of course, if I did not eat them first!  One of Nick's favorite desserts ever is Apple Crisp, so needless to say this was an easy decision.  Last year I made a Fruit Crisp using Ina Garten's Back to Basics recipe, and while it turned out well, I wanted to experiment with recipes a bit.  Since I had some pears on hand from our CSA, I decided to utilize those as well.

Apple Crisp

This time around, I turned to the Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking, which had a basic crisp recipe to start with.

Cookbook!

The Necessities (recipe adapted from the Essentials of Baking)

• The Filling
• 6 cups of chopped and (roughly peeled) apples and pears
• 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• The Toppings
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed tightly)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup melted butter

So many delicious apples

Weird Pears from our CSA

To begin, I roughly peeled and chopped up the apples and the pears - about 3 cups of each.  I tossed them in a large bowl and added the granulated sugar and cinnamon and stirred them together.  I then poured thefruit into a large flat casserole dish and sprinkled a tablespoon of brown sugar over the top (I love brown sugar!).

Apple Mixture

I set aside the apple and pear filling and combined the dry topping ingredients in a large bowl and gave it a bit of a stir before adding the melted butter.  I continued to stir it together until it reached a nice crumbly consistency.

Dry Ingredients

Topping

I spooned the topping over the fruit that I managed to flatten out a bit, being sure to cover all of the apples and pears evenly.  I always think (after the fact of course!) that I should double the topping recipe because it is my favorite part (next time!)  Once I finished topping off the filling, I placed the dish in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.

All Done!

The apple crisp was delicious!  The topping was sweet with just a bit of a crunch.  Definitely one of the better toppings I have made.  However, the apple and pear filling didn't have the juices I was expecting.  I did not have any lemon's on hand so I think the lack of lemon juice may have had something to do with it.  That and it did not have nearly the amount of sugar that others I have made, like the previous fruit crisp!

Apple Crisp is Served!

Apple crisp is always such a great dessert and so easy to make.  I think if I were going to make another crisp, I might use the topping as done here and take a bit more of Ina's filling recipe!  If you haven't made one yet, I think a fall crisp is in order :)

What is your favorite fall dessert?