Fall Apple Crisp

This is absolutely one of Dylan's favorite things that I make.  If you are like me or my friends you went apple picking this fall and had way too many apples for one household.  There are so many different ways to deal with that "problem" from applesauce to apple pie, but Dylan's favorite is apple crisp!  This dish is simple to make and the preparation takes about fifteen minutes from start to finish.  The best part is that it will patiently bake away in the oven giving you plenty of time to eat dinner and then be ready to jump straight into that anxiously waiting pie hole ... err ... apple crisp hole on your face.  LOL

Ingredients:

2-4 apples
1 lemon
1 orange
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp good vanilla extract

3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
1 tsp salt
1 stick COLD butter (diced)

Description:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Chop apples and place into large bowl.  I like to leave the skins on but you can peel the apples if you prefer.  Add the zest of the lemon and the orange to the bowl and juice half the lemon and orange, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Mix everything together and place into small baking dishes for individual servings or place into a large baking dish.  For the topping place the flour, sugar, brown sugar, oats, and salt into a stand mixer.  Mix on low for about 30 seconds to combine then add the diced butter and increase the speed a little.  Mix until the butter is about the size of small peas and the mixture is a little bit like gravel.

Place the topping onto the apples, place the baking dish(es) onto a sheet pan in case they bubble over while cooking, and place into the preheated oven for 45 minutes.  Once the time is up, remove the sheet pan and let it cool for about 10 minutes before serving ... unless you want to seriously burn the roof of your mouth!  I use this time to pull the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer and let it soften for a few minutes.  You can top this hot fall treat with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and maybe even a dap of whipped cream and impress your friends with your culinary expertise!