Apple Crisp

Since it is fall and I received an abundance of apples in our latest Farmer's Market bag (Eric and I paid for 12 weeks of fruits and veggies at our local Farmer's Market and pick up a full bag of produce every week), I decided to try another Apple Crisp recipe.

Apple Crisp is one of my favorite desserts. My mom makes an incredible apple crisp and I've really missed it since moving to Virginia. I decided that this year it was time to make my own.

The first time I tried to make Apple Crisp was just a few weeks ago and I wasn't very happy with it. It tasted great, but didn't look very good, and was not even close to Mom's apple crisp.

This time, I tried a different recipe that I found on Food Network. It's made by The Neely's but I modified it, since they say to divide it up into several small ramekins. I used a 9 X 13 cake pan, but would suggest a 9 x 9 pan because the filling is not as thick as I would have liked it.

This apple crisp is certainly delicious and looks better than my first attempt, but I have to admit - it's still not as as good as my Mom's. The topping my Mom makes is fantastic, thick and crispy...there's just no comparison.

Here's the recipe. Don't get me wrong, it's good, it's just not Mom's!

Ingredients

Filling:

• 5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped small
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For the Filling:

• Mix all the ingredients together. Place into 7 to 8-ounce ramekins or 9 X 9 pan.

For topping:

Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in large bowl. Blend the butter into the mixture until it forms pea size lumps. Stir in pecans and sprinkle over filling.

Bake  for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.