A few secrets of making a great apple crisp revealed
The good news is that this year’s apple harvest is abundant and delicious. Our orchards have rebounded from the sad season last year after the late frost destroyed much of the crop, and we have local apples of all flavors, sizes and colors this year. It is prime apple-picking time, wonderful weather, and we have quite a few orchards in our county from which to choose.
Much to the delight of locals as well as our fall-foliage tourists, there will be apple festivals, bake sales, apple cider donuts and cider at all the farm stands and markets and specials on our restaurant menus.
I picked apples with my grandchildren this past week. Picking is always fairly quick and easy, and before you know it, you end up with a very large sack of fruit. In fact, one can get carried away and end up with a sea of red on the kitchen counter. Pie? Muffins? Dumplings?
We’ve eaten a lot of these tasty fruits straight up, but apple dishes this week included applesauce for the freezer and everyone’s favorite, apple crisp.
There are few desserts that start the mouthwatering as quickly as the aroma and appearance of apple crisp. The site, the smell, the texture of the crispy top. Enticing. But, there are little tricks and a few secret ingredients that ensure a tasty treat.
This is really simple to make. We’ve added ginger here in three ways, and it is a really delightful companion to the apples. You’ll use one bowl, one wooden spoon (or the bowl of your mixer), and you’ll mix all the filling ingredients right in the pan. Everything is tossed in all at once, nothing could be simpler, but you will have to wait a while for it to cook.
Remember, everyone loves the crispy topping best and there’s some who will swipe some of it when no one is looking, so you may have to post a guard until it cools.
Apple ginger crisp
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Place the filling ingredients in a buttered 11-by-9-inch baking dish, such as a glass Pyrex you probably got from your mother and forgot to return.
About three pounds of apples, around 2 quarts, peeled, cored and sliced. (Secret No. 1: Use a mix of apples, not one variety. You’ll want both sweet and tart, and all should be firm. This time around, I used gala, granny Smith, cortland and fortune. The variety of apples will make for a more complex and well-rounded apple flavor.)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup crystalized ginger, minced
1-inch knob of fresh ginger, grated
Zest of one lemon
Juice of half a lemon (a couple of tablespoons)
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (Secret No. 2: Most apple crisp recipes do not include vanilla, but in my book, it is essential.)
A few cranberries if you have them on hand are optional.
1/2 teaspoon salt (Secret No. 3: The salt enhances the sweet and brings out the apple flavor.)
Mix everything together; your fingers work best here.
In the bowl of your stand mixer or a large bowl using a wooden spoon, combine the following filling ingredients:
1 cup of old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
large pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened.
Combine until it is a big mass resembling cookie-dough, then clump on top of the apple mixture, trying to cover most of them, but you may have a few holes and cracks. Depending on the pan you use, you could have some left over.
(Secret No. 4: The clumps of topping will create the texture you want, think little clumps of cookie dough. Many recipes call for mixing the topping until it is like coarse meal and sprinkling it over the fruit. However, your crisp might not crisp if you use that method.)
Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour to 80 minutes, check at 50 minutes and turn in the oven for even browning. The crisp is done when the topping is lightly browned and the filling bubbling through the holes.
The difficult part of this recipe is waiting for the crisp to cool to warm before digging in. Serve as is, or with a scoop of vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.
Harvest blush apple crisp
Add a cup of finely chopped Vermont cranberries. Pretty, with blush smears and a tiny bit of tartness.
Apple rum crisp
You can also use rum instead of the vanilla extract, half apples and half pears.
Strawberry rhubarb crisp
For the filling, use 1 quart of 1/2-inch slices of rhubarb,
1 quart of strawberries, cleaned and sliced,
1/2 cup of white sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch, a pinch of salt, zest and juice of a lemon and 2 teaspoons vanilla. This is tart. You can add a bit more sugar if you like sweeter.
The easiest pink applesauce
For this recipe, an old-fashioned, low-tech food mill works best because you won’t have to peel or core the apples, the little machine will do the work for you. Plus, since you are cooking the apples in their skins, the sauce will turn pink. A food mill is worth having in the kitchen, the original food processor. They are still available in most hardware stores.
Quarter a variety of apples and cut into chunks. No need to peel and core. If you do not have a food mill, you will have to peel and core them before cooking.
You’ll want about a quart and a half of cut-up apples. Place in a pot with a half cup of apple cider, or water, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, cover and let steam until the apples are very tender and coming apart from their skins.
Remove from the heat and use a slotted spoon to scoop the apples into the food mill and process by turning the handle forwards a few times, then backwards once or twice. Keep filling until you’ve loaded all the apples. If no food mill, use a food processor or potato masher.
Add a splash of vanilla extract. If you like your applesauce tart, you are done. However, you can add a bit of sugar or honey if you want it sweeter.
This freezes beautifully.