Falling in love with apples

Photos by Andrew Mrozowski / Arts & Culture Editor

Hamilton’s apple season kicked off this past weekend with Apple Fest Weekend, as part of Food Literacy Month. Orchards are officially open, and there’s no better time to go out and pick some apples. I have a habit of picking way more apples than any one human can possibly eat. To make use of all them, I pull out a classic apple crisp recipe to bake and share with friends. Although honeycrisp apples were used for this recipe, you can use any baking apple. 

There’s no better way to enjoy fall than with some freshly baked apple crisp and a nice cup of tea while bundled up in a scarf. This recipe pairs best with orange pekoe or chai drinks. 

This recipe is a modified version of Apple Crisp II by Diane Kester.

The Ingredients

For the apples:

10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ cup water

For the topping:

2 cups quick-cooking oats

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups packed brown sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup butter, melted

Caramel drizzle (optional):

1 cup butter

1 cup light brown sugar

The Preparation

When you’re peeling the apples, it helps to peel them over a sheet of newspaper (just as long as it’s not a copy of the Silhouette). When you’re tidying up,wrap them up in the newspaper and put them directly into the compost bin. This saves a lot of time cleaning up the counter. The prep takes about 30 minutes, but by far the most difficult part is waiting for the apple crisp to finish baking.

Note: If you find it’s too sweet, you can cut the white sugar down to half a cup. 

The Baking

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit (175 degrees celsius). 
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour, ground cinnamon and nutmeg together. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples. Pour water evenly over all incorporated ingredients
3. Combine the oats, 1 cup of all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
4. Put in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes.
5. Do your best not to burn your tongue when you immediately start eating it. 

The Finishing Touch

1. In a saucepan, combine butter and light brown sugar. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Pour immediately over the apple crisp. Enjoy!

If you aren’t in the mood for orange pekoe or chai tea, this crisp is also great with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Share it with friends, or eat the whole thing yourself. I won’t judge you. Make sure to tag The Silhouette if you make this recipe at home!

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