Apple Crunch

I may not be a huge fan of apple desserts, but Cole loves them, and this recipe is his absolute favorite. The concept behind this dish is very similar to apple crisp, with an apple filling layer, and a crispy top; however, since Cole isn’t a huge fan of oats that are traditionally in crisps, this recipe eliminates them while retaining its crunchy topping. If you have an aversion to the texture of oats, but love the concept of apple crisp, give this recipe a shot!

Ingredients

3 Red Delicious Apples

3 Granny Smith Apples

½ cup Dark Brown Sugar

1 cup Flour

1 cup White Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

1/8 tsp Nutmeg

2 Eggs

⅓ cup Butter

*Optional – 1/4 cup Salted Caramel Baking Chips

*Optional – An extra 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of white sugar combined together to sprinkle on the topping in the middle of the cooking process

**Special Dish Needed – 10 inch Deep Dish Pie Pan

Directions

1. Peel the skin off the apples, and slice them into thin, flat pieces. Get as much of the apple as possible, but stop slicing off pieces once the core can be seen. 

Kitchen Tip: When I prep my apples, I rotate between the two types of apples. The Red Delicious apples are sweet, and the Granny Smith apples are sour. By switching between the two, my pile of sliced apple pieces is a decent mixture of sweet and sour before I have even begun to stir the sugar into them. 

2. Mix the dark brown sugar into the apple slices, then pour them into the greased deep dish pie pan. 

Optional: Sprinkle the salted caramel baking chips over the top of the apples.

3. In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, white sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

4. Beat the eggs in a separate small bowl, then add them into the dry ingredients. Use a large fork or pastry cutter to combine the ingredients together. This should create a sticky ball of batter.

5. Pick up the ball and crumble it into small drops over the top of the apples until they are almost completely covered.

6. Melt the butter and pour it over the topping. Spread it if necessary to make sure all of the topping has some butter on it. This will look like an excessive amount of butter, but it truly is the perfect amount. 

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Place on top of a cookie sheet to prevent any run over that may happen, and keep the oven clean. While the dish is baking, cut four thin stips of aluminum foil – about 3-4 inches wide.

8. After the first 20 minutes of baking, use mitted hands to press the aluminum foil along the edges, making sure it covers the parts of the topping that are beginning to brown faster than the rest.

Kitchen Tip: The crispier you like your topping, the less you should cover with the foil. If you don’t like it crispy at all, you can cover the entire pie dish.

Optional Step: If you like your apple dishes with extra cinnamon and sugar, you can combine 1/2  tsp of cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp of sugar, then sprinkle the topping with it at this point of the cooking process. OR you can buy already pre-mixed cinnamon sugar and sprinkle it over the top until it is coated to your desired amount.

9. Place back in the oven and cook for another 25 minutes. 

Note: I have a convection oven which bakes a little quicker than a standard oven. If you do not have a convection oven, you may want to bake this longer to achieve your desired level of golden brown topping.

After cooking, this dish should come out of the oven perfectly browned and crunchy. Cole recommends eating this dish warm, but make sure you give it at least ten minutes to cool a little before eating so that you don’t burn your mouth! Feel free to serve with vanilla ice cream, or eat it as is! Enjoy!