Yankee Apple Crisp

Directions

1. 1
   Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.Lightly grease or spray a 9x13 pan (pyrex is good) or any other 2 qt baking dish.
2. 2
   Melt butter in medium pot or bowl, remove from stove or microwave and stir in oats, brown sugar, flour, spices and nuts if using.
3. 3
   Peel, core and slice apples (thin or a little thicker - I use my corer/peeler/slicer which makes them pretty thin), then place in pan - I like to sprinkle the apples with a little cinnamon.
4. 4
   Sprinkle crumbs over tops of apples covering as much as possible but a few gaps are ok.
5. 5
   Bake for 45 minutes, if crumbs start to get too brown before the apples are done, you can float a piece of foil loosely over the top. Apples should be very soft when poked with a thin knife.
6. 6
   Serve warm or at room temperature, wonderful with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
7. 7
   NOTES:
8. 8
   You can use other apples, Granny Smiths are pretty tart but that makes a nice contrast with the sweet topping. You can add a couple of teaspoons of sugar if you think they might be too tart for you or use a combo of apples - you can use your favorites, but avoid ones the go to total mush when baked.
9. 9
   I often stir 2-3 tsp of flour into to the apples to avoid watery juice in the bottom of the pan after baking.
10. 10
    I like to use whole wheat pastry flour (not regular whole wheat) for added flavor and nutrition, or a little wheat germ in with the white flour is good too.
11. 11
    You can use this for other fruits also - sometimes I add in some frozen raspberries or sub peaches for the apples, they like blueberries and raspberries too. Peaches will probably need the extra sugar and flour added to them and a little ground ginger and/or cloves added to the topping is delish!