Apples, Apples , Apples Everywhere

When the days start get cool my oven heats up. In the heat of summer I can barely even think of the baked goodies I indulge in during the Autumn, but today was as perfectly cool and crisp  a day as one could wish for.  My whole family loves when I get in a baking mood especially when I bake an apple pie, but apple pie from scratch can be labor in intensive so I decided apple crisp would be in order.

A quick aside is needed here. I love apples. love that they are available year round- a shout out and thank you to California - I love that the best time of year for apples is the Autumn - nothing like hot apple cider on a chilly day- The scent of fresh apples always puts me in an Autumn frame of mind.I love that they come in so many different varieties not just the red or golden delicious, there are Braeburn, Fuji, Winesap, Pink Lady, Mackintosh, Granny Smith, and Gala just to name a few.  Apples are vegan (I know that is obvious, but some people get really hung up on a label), they are good to eat raw as a pure healthy dessert or they can be made into cider, sauce, juice, or baked with a little cinnamon and sugar- topped with vegan ice cream of course! Apples can be turned into pies, cakes, cobblers, crumbles, crisps, turnovers, muffins and apple brown Betty.

Okay now that have listed the apples praises, it just so happens I have about four apples that are past their prime for raw snacking, but are still perfectly usable for baking. So here it is a quick and easy apple crisp:

4-6 apples Gala or Fuji tend to work best -- but Red delicious get a bit mushy for my taste.
1/4 cup brown sugar
1tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
1tbs lemon juice
1tbs cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla

Topping

1cup rolled oats
1cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
3-4 Tbs non-dairy milk

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F

Combine apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cornstarch in a bowl and let sit for about 10min.
Mix dry ingredients for the topping, then add oil and milk. Mix thoroughly.

Spoon apples into an 8x8 square pan and spread topping on top. Bake for 45min or until topping is brown. Let cool around 15min before serving.

Plop some vegan ice cream on top and enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from: http://www.theppk.com/2007/10/apple-crisp/

Happy Eating
Kim