Hello Fall, Hello Apple Crisp

Right now we are enjoying "Indian Summer"...but it IS fall. I have to embrace it. A couple weeks ago, while seeing the leaves start to change on one of my multiple trips outdoors with Truman, I decided to use some dead-looking apples to make a fabulous dessert. And I wanted to use butter. So I consulted the Baking Illustrated again, and it went SO well :) Enjoy!

Apple Crisp

from Baking Illustrated

Topping:

6 Tablespoons (1 7/8 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed (1 3/4 oz) light brown sugar

1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

3/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts, such as almonds, pecans or walnuts (the pecans were AWESOME)

Filling:

3 Medium Granny Smith Apples (approx. 1 1/4 lbs)

3 Medium McIntosh Apples (approx. 1 1/4 lbs) (honestly, I just used whatever apples I had, and I made sure that I had about 2.5lbs)

1/2 teaspoon grated zest and 1 1/2 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon (I just used lemon juice from a bottle, and didn't add the zest.)

1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) granulated sugar

1. For the topping: Place the four, sugars, spices, and salt in a food processor and process briefly to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 times, about 4 seconds for each pulse. The mixture will first look like dry sand, with large lumps of butter, then like coarse cornmeal. Add the nuts, then process again, four or five 1-second pulses. The topping should look like slightly clumpy wet sand. Be sure not to overmix or the mixture will become too wet and homogenous. Refrigerate the topping while preparing the fruit, at least 15 minutes.

2. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375º

3. For the filling: Peel, core and cut the apples into 1-inch chunks (I used an apple corer slicer and then just cut the slices into the 1" chunks. Done. Easy. :) This should give you approximately 6 cups. Toss the apples, zest, juice, and sugar in a medium bowl. Scrape the fruit mixture with a rubber spatula into an 8-inch square baking pan, 9-inch deep-dish pie plate, or whatever you think will fit it ;)

4. To assemble and bake the crisp: Distribute the chilled topping evenly over the fruit. Bake for 40 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 400º and continue baking until the fruit is bubbling and the topping turns deep golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Serve warm. (The crisp can be set aside at room temperature for a few hours and then reheated in a warm oven just before serving.)