The Amazing, Disappearing Apple Crisp

I love apple crisp!! I have heard some people compare apple crisp to what is called apple crumble in the UK, but to me, there is no comparison. Crumble is not as sweet and satisfying as crisp, but I do accept it as a nice dessert as long as I think of being as different from a crisp as chocolate chip brownies are different from plain fudge brownies. It's just another layer of goodness! I'm happy my boyfriend agrees. Maybe I spoke too soon though....

I have always made apple crisp with the topping mix that is sold in the fruit section of the grocery store. I'm trying to keep away from box mixes now for several reasons

1. It's usually cheaper and we're trying to cut spending.
2. When we move to England they don't have all the same products and I want to learn how to make it on my own while I have the "real" thing available for comparison.
3. It can be fun!

I love Cortland apples, so those are my go-to apples for baking. I found a recipe that had excellent reviews on Recipezaar and decided to give it a shot. My other prerequisite was that oats had to be an ingredient. I've usually had apple crisp with oats in it, so I bought a container just for the crisp. Not only did I buy the container, I forgot them on my first trip and made a special trip out to make sure I had them since I was so excited for this dessert! The first couple of recipes I looked at (including the cookbooks I have at home) did not have oats in them. I was having none of that. I finally found this one: http://www.recipezaar.com/20591

I decided to leave out the lemon juice. I'm not a big fan of the lemon taste and I worked quickly enough that the apples didn't brown too much either. Plus, I didn't think I had any.



This turned out amazing! I will double the batch next time since we ate it all that night. That's why I'm not so sure I'm happy Lee likes it...he eats so much of it!