Cran-Apple Crisp

Apple crisp is the ultimate fall dessert. It's warm and full of apples - what says fall more clearly than that? Best of all, this dessert is so easy to make (good for those too lazy to make pie crust!). I had some apples in the fridge that were a bit too mealy to eat as-is (now that it is Honeycrisp season I have little patience for mealy apples), so I felt the time was "ripe"!

Cran-Apple Crisp

So, this one was easy to wing. I had some dried cranberries leftover so I threw some in to make the filling more interesting. The "crisp" for this recipe is more crumby than crispy, but I like it that way. It makes a small batch, 4 small servings worth.

Ingredients:
For the filling-
4 small apples, cored and sliced
1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 tbsp butter
cinnamon
nutmeg

For the topping-
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup oats
2 1/2 tbsp butter (very cold, cut in small cubes)
cinnamon
nutmeg
nuts

Steps:

1.) Butter a 6-inch round cake pan (or similarly sized dish). Toss apples and cranberries with brown sugar in the pan.

2.) Cut butter into small pieces and mix in. Season with cinnamon and nutmeg (like 1/4 tspn of nutmeg and 1/2 tspn of cinnamon?)

3.) In a medium-sized bowl combine flour, sugar and oats and mix well. Season with cinnamon/nutmeg if desired.

4.) Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.

5.) Top apples with crumb topping. Sort of push it down into the apples. Sprinkle with nuts (I used pecans) if desired (alternatively you could mix nuts into the filling or topping itself).

6.) Bake in a 350 degree oven about 25-30 minutes or until the apples are tender and the topping is lightly browned.

7.) Serve with ice cream (this is a required step!)