Homemade apple crisp is my oldest daughter, Nancy Hartman’s, favorite dessert. Some might say that she should be considered an apple crisp snob! She is very proud of this title since she has to make sure that every spoonful captures the crisp in each bite. Because of her high standards, she and her family call this recipe “Apple Crispy Crisp.”
Per Nancy, “In my opinion the apples are just a bed for the crisp to lounge on and should never disappear and leave your apples lonely. If you follow this recipe, each mouthful will be rich with apple, crisp, and ice cream down to the bottom of the bowl. You can thank me later.”
- 6 large tart cooking apples, peeled, cored, and sliced*
- 3 tablespoons lime juice or lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Zest from 1 orange, divided
- 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon, ground, divided
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9x13-inch rectangular pan.
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Prepare Apple Filling - In a large mixing bowl, add the sliced apples, lemon juice, and 1/2 of orange zest. Gently stir together until everything is well mixed. Pour the apple mixture into the prepared pan and set aside.
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Prepare Crisp Topping - In another large bowl, combine oatmeal, brown sugar, almond extract, pecans, flour, nutmeg, 1/2 the cinnamon, and remaining orange zest. Mash all the ingredients together until all dry ingredients are mixed in and mixture is crumbly. Slowly add the soften butter and blend until crumbly.
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Sprinkle the prepared Crisp Topping mixture over the top of the apples. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon over the crumble mixture.
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Place the prepared apple crisp on middle rack of oven. Bake approximately 40 to 50 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven.
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Serve warm with French Vanilla Ice Cream.
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Serves many.
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* Choose cooking apples on the tart side, such as Granny Smith, Jonagold, or Macintosh apples.
