🍎 Deborah’s Autumn Apple Crisp (A Maple Gap Favorite)

🍎 Deborah Livingston’s Autumn Apple Crisp

(A Maple Gap favorite - sweet, simple, and guaranteed to disappear before the closing hymn.)

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 6 medium apples (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp work best)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• Pinch of salt

For the topping:

• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• ¾ cup brown sugar (packed)
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional, but Lucille insists it’s “a blessing in every bite”)

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Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly butter a 9x9-inch baking dish (or your favorite pie plate, if Lucille hasn’t borrowed it).
2. Prepare the filling:
   Peel, core, and slice apples into thin wedges. In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt until coated. Pour evenly into the baking dish.
3. Mix the topping:
   In another bowl, stir together oats, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add melted butter and stir until crumbly and evenly combined. Stir in nuts if desired.
4. Assemble:
   Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples, covering them completely.
5. Bake:
   Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until the topping is golden and the apples are bubbling around the edges.
6. Cool slightly before serving.
   Deborah recommends letting it rest at least 15 minutes before scooping - “so the steam doesn’t take your eyebrows off.”

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Serving Suggestions

• Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
• Drizzle with caramel sauce for extra sweetness.
• For a Maple Gap twist: a sprinkle of sea salt and a drizzle of honey.

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Deborah’s Tip:

“If you’ve got apples, cinnamon, and a grateful heart, you’ve got everything you need for company.”