Fortunately, the temperature here got up to 33 degrees today, which means the ice storm that’s been moving through the Midwest left just a light glaze (so far) in my town, compared with the terrible damage in Oklahoma. Nevertheless, I stayed in and baked an apple dessert rather than venture out much.
As you can see from these photos out the back window, the ice by late afternoon was less than 1/4 inch thick (and those are icicles you see, not ordinary drips). I finally took a short walk in the neighborhood and saw only a couple of branches down, thank goodness. I’m counting on this being the end of it and, my fingers are firmly crossed.
Anyway, being inside all day, I got inspired to finally do something with a bunch of apples that were a little past their peak. They weren’t bad, but they’d lost their characteristic and desirable (to my mind) crispness. I’ve been thinking I should bake them into something, so this afternoon I did the lazy person’s Apple Crisp.
First, I prepped the apples by simply washing them and coring/slicing them with whatever that tool is called. (See photo.) I didn’t peel them. (They were too soft to use my beloved Norpro apple peeler/corer/slicer, and my wrists weren’t up to doing it by hand.) Then, I mixed the topping, put it on top and tossed the dish in the oven. If it weren’t for a mid-prep phone call, it would have taken 15 minutes to put together.
As good fortune would have it, a neighbor invited me over for dinner, so I brought the dessert. It was just a comforting conclusion to a comforting soup dinner. The apple skin softened up nicely and wasn’t the textural distraction I feared it might be. Try it!
Apple Crisp
- 4 cups cored, sliced apples
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup oatmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- Place sliced apples in 9-inch baking dish treated with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine brown sugar, flour, oatmeal, nutmeg, cinnamon, sesame seeds and nuts. Add melted butter, and stir till crumbly. Sprinkle over apples.
- Bake at 375 degrees 30 minutes, or until apples are tender and topping is browned. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
A bit of the finished product:
Joanne // Dec 17, 2007 at 10:43 am
I’ve been wondering about how you’re doing in all that exciting “weather.” I love apple crumble and have actually put a very flexible recipe for it in my book! I agree, there is something very satisfying about ending a soup dinner with a really filling and yummy dessert like this. Thanks for posting about it so I can enjoy someone else’s vicariously!
Janet Majure // Dec 18, 2007 at 8:51 am
Hey, Joanne. Thanks. The ice was followed a couple days later by snow, which made for fine baking this weekend. I hope to post on it later today! Stay warm.