Jane Lear's Apple Crisp

We're in that weird in-between phase where the weather's warming up and the markets are starting to glow with mounds of ghostly white asparagus, tender baby onions and the first shoots of rhubarb, but old habits die hard and I still find myself reaching for the last butternut squashes and apples from the fall. I keep wanting to smack my own hands for doing it, but I usually don't realize it until I've already paid and am turning away from the stand, heavy bags in hand.

I guess spring fever really does addle the mind.

So we had roast butternut squash purée this week, the same week we went out for our first ice cream cones and starting sleeping with our legs stuck out from under the covers in search of cooler air. And to rid myself of the last wrinkly little apples gathering dust in the bowl that I like to pile them in during the colder months, I made an apple crisp.

Let's just pause for a moment and give thanks for the mighty fruit crisp. How I do love it. May I count the ways?

1. It allows you to use up fruit you wouldn't eat under any other circumstances due to spots, wrinkles and other blemishes of old age.

2. It can be made in the time it takes you to eat dinner.

3. It requires no special ingredients at all.

4. It can be eaten both for dessert and breakfast.

5. It makes your house smell amazing. Move over, Diptyque.

I got the recipe for this particular crisp from Jane Lear's blog, where she tucked it into a post about her favorite pan. Since then, I've made it about four different times, usually with apples, but once with rhubarb, which I brought to a dinner party hosted by some German friends who could have been summarily knocked over with a feather once they starting eating it. "But it's so good!", and, "How did you do it?"

I'm still chuckling about that.

You barely need a recipe, as you probably already know. Just some key elements: a bit of fruit, in this case about five apples, some oats, in this case a mixed grain müsli we had lying around the kitchen, some brown sugar, some pecans, a bit of cinnamon, and butter. That's it. That's it!

After my American grandfather had a stroke several years ago and went to live in an old-age home, my stepmother and father went down to Philadelphia to deal with the apartment he'd left behind. Almost everything was sold or given away, the impeccable Danish modern furniture, the tchotchkes, the art. My uncle kept a few paintings, my dad his favorite little table. And my stepmother, lovely woman that she is, poked her head into the kitchen and made sure a few pots and pans were put aside for me.

Which is why I think of her and my grandmother now everytime I pull out this old yellow baking dish. It's sort of the perfect size for one or two people. Just big enough for roasting a few shallots in vinegar, or for making baked tomato sauce, or for an apple crisp that'll last long enough for a few desserts and breakfasts. It's worn but not too worn, the yellow is sunny and yolk-like and it makes a satisfying clang when plonked down on the kitchen counter.

What I think is important to remember about a crisp is that it shouldn't be too sweet and there should definitely be pecans involved, because there is something about the alchemy between toasting pecans, brown sugar and butter that makes the world stop turning. Combine that with tart-sweet apples that have gone all limp and soft in the oven and you've got yourself a pretty wonderful weeknight dessert. I don't ever put ice cream or cream on it because I figure it's decadent enough to be eating a baked dessert on a weeknight rather than just a plain apple sliced into quarters, but if you wanted to gussy things up for a weekend or a party, gild away with dairy!

There's little that can beat, however, a bowl of this cooled to room temperature in the morning and spooned up with a dollop of cold plain yogurt for breakfast. Who needs fried eggs or pancakes when there's yesterday's apple crisp?

This was the last crisp of the season, since I really can't bear to buy any more apples, not when there are little berries winking at me in the market and stalks of rhubarb waving away right next to them. Soon we'll be picking berries out in the countryside around Berlin and then there will be elderflowers and plums and cherries galore and I'll forget entirely about apples until the first cold weekends again in the fall when all I'll want to do is turn the oven on and start baking again. But there's something so sweet and simple about this dessert that it makes me a little melancholy to leave it behind.

So if it's still cool where you are, if you're still grateful to turn the oven on for a little while at dinnertime, if you still want the scent of cinnamon and baking apples and toasting pecans to waft through your home before they're supplanted with warm breezes and the smell of cut tomatoes on the kitchen counter, then make this crisp, snuggle into your couch after dinner and spoon up the last flavors of winter.

Happy Easter, everyone. Happy Passover. And happy spring!

Apple Crisp
Serves 4

5 to 6 apples, I used Pinova, peeled, cored and sliced
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon rolled oats or a müsli mix with rolled oats, whole-grain flakes and seeds
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons butter, softened, plus more for the pan.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a baking dish. Pile in the apple slices.

2. Combine the oats, sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon and pecans in a bowl. Work the butter into the oat mixture with your fingers until it forms small, moist clumps.

3. Sprinkle the topping over the apples (it won’t completely cover the fruit) and slide the dish into the oven for about half an hour. The crisp should be fragrant and bubbling around the edges and the apples should be cooked through.

Comments

[Sylee]

Oh, wonderful. Just a little sweet is just right. I made my first rhubarb crisp of the season last night and thought I must freeze some crisp topping so it's always to hand, even on the busiest weekday evenings.

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

Though I usually make apple crisps for dinner, I always try to save a bit for breakfast the next morning. Topped with a big of yogurt, they're every bit as good at the beginning of the day as they are in the evening topped with a bit of vanilla ice cream.

[Caroline]

Kudos for being able to enjoy the crisp without cream or ice cream. I do not have that gene.

[stacey snacks]

I've been making apple cakes too, and even a brisket for Passover with sweet potatoes & Brussels sprouts! It still feels like late winter here in NYC.....it's been damp and cool, though my tulips are up and red!

[Molly]

Last night I went to bed dreaming about rhubarb. It's still not quite spring here in Boston, as I have yet to have this year's asparagus, but have been served both apple chutney and squash in the past week. Now I'm thinking about taking this recipe and trying it with the last of the fall's squash, then trying it with the first of the season rhubarb. Decisions, decisions...

[Zagaradisicilia.wordpress.com]

Random, but what is that juice that you're drinking? I love the color (as well as all the other lovely bits of this post).

[Tracy A.]

Love me some apple crisp. My husband throws Montmorency dried cherries in with the apples for some extra wow.

[Michelle]

I adore heirloom dishes. My favorite dishes are the few that I snuck out from my late Grandma's house. I loved her so much and now she is in the kitchen with me. This is my favorite bread pan of hers http://ladystiles.blogspot.com/2011/02/whole-wheat-sandwich-bread.html

[Allison]

Crisps are the best aren't they? I think they sometimes get the short end of the stick compared to some of the "fancier" desserts out there but they taste so gosh darn good.

[Legume]

Thanks for sharing receipt. Cant wait to try it.

[Karen]

still a bit cold here in the Pacific Northwest. got some apples and one bag of blackberries left in the freezer.....hmmm sounds like a plan. nice post - love the words.

[Jesse Miller]

Great post! Karen I have THE recipe for those frozen apples and blackberries... This is something I'm going to enter in an online contest called Real Women Of Philadelphia. A friend told me about it a few weeks ago and I looked into IT. Here's the recipe:

5 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples
1 pint blackberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Place bottom pastry in a pie plate (9-inch is what I use). Top with a thin layer of apples. Then combine the blackberries and remaining apples in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Add sugar and cornstarch, toss it gently. Spoon into pie shell and dot with butter. Top with a lattice crust, seal your edges... combine egg and water or milk and brush over lattice top and pie edges. Put in oven at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. My sweet tooth always gets the best of me and i usually sprinkle the baked pie with additional sugar. Oops!

This pie is SO delish, you MUST try it!

And for all those who think they have a stellar dessert, meet me in the winners circle at Real Women of Philadelphia!!

[Charlotte s]

Beautiful post, as usual! I keep lots of apples in a big bowl during winter as well, so I'll definitely be making this with the ones we don't end up eating! It's still a little cold here in NY, although the trees are bursting into bloom one after the other. I'm game for a warm, comforting dessert any time of the year ;)

[the twice bitten]

I love a crisp as much as the next girl but given the choice i would be reaching for the first of the new season asparagus. Feels like Ive been waiting so long for it. Lovely pictures, lovely words, lovely post. Thumbs up.

[Julia of Randomly Yours, Julia]

I made a crisp two days ago, frozen raspberries and red delicious. And you're right, Luisa, you don't need a recipe! I love your little yellow dish.

[Charlotte]

I love your dish (and the story behind it). And I think it must be warmer where you are than here - although the cherry blossoms are fading and the magnolia are in full bloom, it is still chilly with snow/hail three times this week - ack. But we love crisps (crumbles) in this house but we are all about almonds, instead of pecans.

[Sara]

Ciao Luisa!
the carrot, onion and lentils soup is THE recipe!! I've alreaady cooked it twice and believe me, it will never run out from my cooking list. It's already a classic to me.
I really appreciate the way you tell us about your feelings about food and life, it's really inspiring!
Bravissima, davvero
Greetings from a loyal italian fan
Sara

[Claudia]

This looks amazing! I cannot wait to try it (we have some chocolate-laced muesli right now that I bet would taste fantastic over apples and/or pears).

[Emily]

Luisa,
Thanks so much for this recipe, I too had some of last Fall's apples that are reaching the end and are wrinkly but still good. We also had home-made granola and so I made this for dessert last night. And of course we enjoyed it for breakfast this morning. Yum!

[Luisa]

Zagara - blood orange juice! :)

Sara - isn't it SO good? I can't wait to make it again. Thank you for your kind words!

[happy sigh]

this was the perfect post to read while listening to carrett Hedlund's Timing is everythin. thank you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vO9qp9cx4Q&feature=related

[happy sigh]

I meant Garrett (not Carrett)

[Wave Watcher]

I LOVE crisps, too. Have been making them for years, with various fruits. I like mixing in some blackberries with peaches or pears or apples when I have them. Oats are the "must" for me in a crisp. And now I'll add pecans to that. Otherwise, your recipe is very similar to mine.

[Sara of Greenwich Sunday Lunch]

Anything that can be eaten for breakfast and dessert must be a winner in my eyes!. Lovely blog and photos by the way.

[Eva]

I really enjoyed the recipe! Here in New England, we're also finishing up the apple season. I'm always on the look-out for good recipes that use apples. One I particularly like is an apple walnut cake. It is very, very moist and flavorful. While it has a distinct fall taste, I think it's perfectly fine for spring, too:
http://inthekitchenwitheva-eva.blogspot.com/2011/02/apples-during-winter.html