When Bob and I were kids, Mom used to make Apple Crisp fairly often. It was sweet and cinnamony and that's about all a kid needs to know. Of course it contained apples so it was also probably a sly way to get us to eat fruit. But we never thought of that. We just liked it.
Yesterday I noticed that Tom's bag of apples in the refrigerator were getting a few dark spots. I had several apples there, too. All told: eight.
I have never made Apple Crisp and didn't, in fact, even know where Mom kept the recipe. So I started a search and I think I found it. She almost certainly used an old Mennonite recipe, the source of many of her favorite desserts.
It's simple enough:
8 apples
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon (heaping)
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup margarine (one stick)
1/2 cup water
I cored the apples and cut them into bite-sized chunks and layered them in the bottom of an (size) glass baking dish. I greased the pan first to prevent sticking. I added the water to them.
The remaining ingredients were mixed in a bowl. The margarine is "cut in" with a fork, making a crumbly mixture that is them spread over the layer of apples. I smoothed it out with the back of a tablespoon.
The pan is baked for 40 minutes at 375° (uncovered).
I like how the top becomes uneven as it bakes. This is due to the pockets of margarine melting and dripping down through the base of apples. After the baking time was up I gave the dish perhaps a little less than a minute with the broiler on high so that the cinnamon topping would darken a bit at its highest spots.
The completed dish takes hours to cool but I suppose one might jump the gun and serve it while still warm. I preferred waiting a day for any liquids to be absorbed by the apples.
