The Battle of the Apple Crisps, or, Apple Crisp, Two Ways
/TWO WILL ENTER, ONLY ONE WILL LEAVE!*
When I was growing up, my mom was the queen of crisps. And now that I've made a fair amount of my own, I still don't know how she managed to always make the crumb topping on her crisps so perfect... mine kind of tends to blend together and form a lid rather than a crumbly layer, but I'm getting better at it, as these recipes can attest.
Since there were two recipes for Apple Crisp in the box... and since it's autumn and that means apple weather, I figured there was no better option than to make both the crisps and pair them side-by-side in a fight-to-the-death to determine the best one. So here are two apple crisp recipes for you to choose from next time you want to make one. Both are simple and easy, neither requires any strange ingredients or equipment, and both are delicious. Below are listed the recipes as they came from the box, along with my favourite parts about each of them so you can mix and match to your heart's content. I've named them below according to their (slight) differences, so make one or both and let me know what YOU think!
I prepared each of them exactly according to the directions, and here are the results:
the verdict:
Apple Crisp 1: Super-Sweet, Super-Easy Apple Crisp.
5 spoons out of five. The oatmeal crust was thick and crispy and tasted just like autumn. Bonus points for me? The apples don't get peeled, so it's an insanely quick dessert that I cranked out in less than 20 minutes.
Apple Crisp 2: Extra-Crispy Apple Crisp with Whipped Cream.
4 spoons out of five. The crust was delicious, but with only flour, sugar, and butter, it lacked the dimension that Apple Crisp 1's crust had. However, the recipe had us serving this one with whipped cream, which I made from scratch with a dash of bourbon vanilla, and that almost elevated this one back up to 5 spoons.
A Hypothetical Perfect Apple Crisp:
If I was going to make another apple crisp, I would make the topping from Apple Crisp 1 with the filling from 2, and then I would top the whole thing with a mountain of whipped cream.
*Actually, none will leave, because we are going to eat them all.
The recipe:
Super-Sweet, Super-Easy Apple Crisp
the directions:
Preheat oven to 175C/350F.
Without peeling, cut up apples into a pie dish.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, then set aside.
In a separate dish, mix together brown sugar, flour, oatmeal and butter until a coarse and
crumbly mixture forms, then pour on top of apples and press down gently.
Bake 30-40 minutes until bubbling at edges and fragrant.
Note: If you have leftover topping, you can bake it in its own dish and sprinkle it over a bowl of oatmeal for a decadent morning treat.
the ingredients:
4 apples
½ c sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 ½ c brown sugar
1 c flour
1 ½ c oatmeal
1 c butter
The recipe:
Extra-Crispy Apple Crisp with Whipped Cream
the recipe:
Preheat oven to 190C/375F and grease an 8-inch square baking dish.
Mix together apples, 1/3 c sugar, cinnamon, salt, and melted butter.
Pour apple mixture into prepared dish and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine ¾ c sugar and flour, then cut in butter until crumbly.
Sprinkle over apples mixture.
Bake 35 minutes or until a fork easily pierces through the apples.
While cake is baking whip the cream with vanilla until light and fluffy.
Serve crisp while warm and top with a cloud of whipped cream.
the ingredients:
6 cups apples, peeled and sliced as thinly as possible
1/3 c sugar + ¾ c sugar, divided
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, melted + 1/3 c butter, not melted
½ c flour
1 c whipping cream
Dash vanilla