Apples Transformed

Last week Adam and I went out to play in the backyard. Adam loves to pick little apples from our dwarf apple tree up off the ground and inspect them. After washing them off he might even take a bite or two! As we were out there I decided to pick the rest of the apples off of the tree-- there were only 5-6 small ones. With these in hand plus a few Gravensteins I'd picked up at the farmer's market I had the makings for a lovely apple crisp.

I had remembered that in a past issue of Cook's Illustrated they had a recipe for apple crisp that looked intriguing. It looked good and was nice because it could all be assembled into a skillet and baked in the oven.

I decided to add a few of my own touches to the recipe- substituting more local hazelnuts for the pecans and adding nutmeg and vanilla to the topping as well as the filling. Also, I used a bit of our own apple cider!

The original recipe calls for Golden Delicious apples- but I combined my unknown variety rosy backyard apples with a few from the market and it turned out divine! So, get creative with your own apples or apples that you find at the market this time of year- just ask the farmer which ones are good for baking and enjoy! This recipe is so good that even my husband who usually doesn't like apple desserts has enjoyed it!


Oregon Apple Crisp:

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Topping:

3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped hazelnuts
3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats (I use Bob's Red Mill- another local product)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons or 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling:

3 pounds Golden Delicious, Gravenstein or other good cooking apple- peeled, cored, halved and cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup apple cider
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. For the Topping: Adjust the oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450F. Combine flour, hazelnuts, oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in butter and vanilla until mixture is thoroughly moistened and crumbly. Set aside and make the apple filling.

2. For the Filling: Toss apples, granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a large bowl; set aside. Bring apple cider to a simmer in a 12 inch oven safe skillet over medium heat; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, around 5 minutes. Put the cider into a liquid measuring cup, stir in the lemon juice and set aside.

3. Heat the butter in the same skillet over medium heat. When the foaming starts going down add the apple mixture and cook, stirring frequently until apples begin to soften- 12 to 14 minutes. You don't want to fully cook apples. Remove pan from the heat and stir in cider mixture to coat the apples.

4. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apple mixture- breaking up any large chunks. Place skillet onto a baking sheet and bake until the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack around 15 minutes- then serve.

Enjoy!