Honorary Dish of the Day: Classic Apple Crisp
Honorary Dish of the Day: Our honorary dish of the day, this heart-warming and truly divine Classic Apple Crisp, is an utterly delightful dessert that has quickly become one of my all-time favorites! We rank this absolutely delicious treat right up there at the top of our dessert hall of fame in our house 😍. While it is often classified as an autumn dessert, I firmly believe that it fits right in as a winter dessert as well since it is a dish best served warm. Trust me, there is nothing as comforting and heart-warming as a warm apple crisp on a cold winter night!
Although apple crisps are thought to have originated from the US, there is no doubt that they have gradually become truly multicultural in nature and can be found in many menus across different countries in the Western Hemisphere. They are very similar to crumbles and I actually initially wanted to christen my dessert an apple crumble...but although some countries consider the terms crisp and crumble as interchangeable, I came to learn through this article that there is a distinction between these two closely related sweet treats. I love two things in particular about this dessert - its simplicity and versatility. It is a uniquely decadent dessert that takes very little time to prepare, requires only a few common kitchen pantry ingredients, and can also be modified to include different fruits and recipe components. One can think of it as a simpler yet similarly elegant version of an apple pie...it bursts with abundant flavor and brightness. Surely, what's not to love about this dish? 😋
To prepare my apple crisp, I first preheated my oven to 375℉ before cleaning and slicing 4 golden delicious apples into somewhat even wedges. I then squeezed juice from 1/4 piece of lemon and tossed the slices around in the bowl to ensure they all became coated with the liquid. The juice's acidity helps cut through some of the sweetness in the crisp and creates a more balanced flavor profile. I then sprinkled 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 11/2 teaspoons of brown sugar over the slices, grated a bit of orange zest over it, and mixed to blend well together before setting the bowl aside. In a separate bowl, I created my crisp topping by combining 1 cup of whole-wheat flour and 1 cup of a medley of rolled oats and flax seeds. I added 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice blend, 1 teaspoon of honey, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to the topping blend and mixed to blend all ingredients thoroughly until I achieved a crumbly texture. After spraying my glass baking dish, I poured the apple filling mixture into it and spread it out evenly within the baking dish. I then poured in the oat-and-flour topping over the apples to create an even upper layer over them. Finally, I baked the dish at 375℉ for 50 minutes, covering the dish in the last 10 minutes with aluminum foil to ensure the oats did not become too crispy since I prefer a softer, chewy texture. This delicious dessert pairs incredibly well with ice cream...another big plus in my book! I highly recommend this simple yet decadent dessert and hope you give it a try too sometime. Enjoy! 😊
