Hello, again–this time from my warm, cozy kitchen. We had a fabulous time in Maui and I came back back refreshed, energized and wanting to cook up a storm. Believe it or not, I missed blogging and writing about food. I suppose this is a strong sign that I’m quite enjoying this hobby despite being surrounded by the beautiful warm waters of the Pacific Ocean all week. In short, I missed you guys!
Consequently, I’ve spent most of my time in the kitchen today, happily baking, tasting, photographing and now of course, blogging all about it. I’ve made three dishes in the last 24 hours and I don’t want to stop! Could it be the endorphins from this morning’s workout or is it my second round of black tea today? Either way, I’m very happy to be home and cooking.
So far I’ve made chicken stew and an appetizer (will post these soon) but I also wanted something warm from the oven. The inspiration came from the few pounds of Fuji apples I had in the refrigerator. Apparently, our house sitter (brother-in-law) doesn’t enjoy apples as much as we do and we left him with more than he could eat in a week. I also wanted something simple (you know, reward without the labor) and not too rich like cake or pie. The answer: Apple Crisp.
It took no time to find a recipe on the web that wouldn’t require me to go to the store so I had a winner! The original recipe called for making one batch of the crisp in a baking dish but I decided to make individual portions in my little red ramekins–my way of exercising portion control. I also halved the recipe I found, made my adjustments accordingly and I was very pleased with the results.
The crunchy oat topping went perfectly with the warm, spiced and slightly sweet apples. I scaled down the sugar and compensated by upping the spice proportions, adding allspice and nutmeg to the cinnamon. Not too sweet, not too buttery. Instead, the oat topping is almost delicate, adding just the right amount of crunch and the apple’s natural sweetness is what hits your taste buds, not the sugar. My husband is not wont to call anything perfect but he declared these so after one bite.
The only imperfection was my timing in taking pictures of these little crisps. I let them rest a little before photographing them not realizing that the filling would settle so much. You can see that I filled the ramekins to the top but just a few minutes rest resulted in my individual servings dwindling to half portions. Fortunately, I wasn’t planning to serve these to company but if this were the case, topping each one with a scoop of vanilla or cinnamon ice cream would remedy the potential presentation gaffe.
Individual Apple Crisps
Adapted from Apple Crisp Recipe at marthastewart.com
Note: Please click here for the original recipe that serves 8. My scaled down version serves 5.
- 1/2 of 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I just eyeballed the measurements)
- 1/8 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- About 2/3 of 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold and cut into small cubes)
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 1/2 pounds apples (I used two large Fujis), peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch grated nutmeg (my addition)
- Pinch allspice (my addition)
Follow the instructions as described in the link. If you’d like to prepare the crisps in individual ramekins, here’s what I did:
1. I prepped the apples first and tossed them in the lemon juice, cinnamon, remaining sugar and also grated nutmeg and allspice. I let this sit for the flavors to blend while I prepared the rest.
2. Instead of baking in a large, shallow dish, the halved portion I prepared was enough to fill 5 ramekins. I baked them on a baking sheet at 350ºF (instead of 375ºF) with my convection on for roughly 50 minutes. Serve warm.
We missed you too! Welcome back! I totally understand your mood. I could not bake and blog for 5 days and I missed it so much that I made 4 desserts in 3 days 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I also have extra apples and sometimes it’s true that you don’t want to make a trip to the store just for one ingredient. Looks yummy and light. Great to start the week!
Thanks, Sara! I’ll trade you for one of your blueberry tartlettes!
Oooh, yummy! I use fuji apples, too but sometimes I use granny smith apples for an extra pucker-inducing deliciousness! I love the individual servings, too so nobody has to fight over portions! And yes, love them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I’m drooling!
J
Jun, I love granny smiths, too. We just seem to buy fujis as our “everyday” apples. 🙂 Yes, ice cream would have been great with these but I’m cutting back! 🙂
Those look so delicious! It reminds of elementary school in Missouri. The lunch ladies there made a mean apple crisp. I will be making this tomorrow night in honor of the first day of school. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, you’ll have to let me know how they turn out. I cut back on the sugar a lot but it worked for us. I’m curious if you’ll like them too. Thanks! 🙂
Going apple picking this week…can’t wait!
Welcome back! I am sure you both had an amazing time. Those apple crisps look divine. One of my favorite desserts. The photos came out wonderful. Interesting that we have the same camera – I have so much more to learn, but excited to master it. Look forward to seeing the other things you made today – I am sure they are coming soon. Have a great week ahead!!!
Hi Lisa, thanks! The apple crisps didn’t last very long–hubby’s already had two of the five. And yes, we do have the same camera; I also have a Sony Alpha DSLR. Still learning how to use it, though.
Have a great week yourself!
It’s a really pleasant feeling to be home from vacation and in your own kitchen, isn’t it? I always miss cooking and just sort of throwing things together when I’m on vacation–eating feels like such a big production.
These apple crisps would be welcome in my kitchen for sure! Love them and I get a ton of apples from the orchard.
I would love an apple crisp right now…and I love returning home after vacation because I get to cook and bake again! I think your photographs turned out well (but I would have welcomed some ice cream on my serving for sure!)
Aww we missed you too! Glad to have you back… I’m like you – when I go on holiday I can’t wait to get back to my kitchen… but 3 hours in 24 hours is a whole lot of cooking – but hey, if you are going to continue to post dishes like this – I’m not complaining!
Those apple crisps look amazing! Especially in the close-up shot, in which you can see the baked apple and spices. YUM!
Welcome home!
I think your apple crisps look perfect, you have to leave room on the top for the scoop of vanilla ice cream! I am a big fan of crisp topping and a little oatmeal sounds wonderful with the apples. Can’t wait to see the rest of your cooking projects:-)
Patty, the oatmeal worked out great. I’d hesitate to try anything else next time. Thanks!
Hope you had fun in Maui! I definitely know what you mean about missing blogging and reading everyone’s creations. I am on an individual serving size kick right now, I love how cute and clean they are. Thanks for sharing!
Welcome back! And, yes, we’re ready for dessert 🙂 I was thinking the same thing as Christa Rose – I have fond memories of Apple Crisp from elementary school, too – picturing the lunch ladies serving us from huge stainless steel pans oozing with crispy, apple yumminess!
Welcome hoome! I love desserts that can be made in individual cups.. keeps me from scarfing down a huge portion! And these look great.. good thing I’m going to the grocery tonight!
Evan, my husband paid no heed to the portions–he polished all of these off in two nights! 🙂
I like these portion controlled sizes of your apple crisp. Anytime is a good time for homemade fruit crisps. It’s comfort food. Wow…three dishes in 24 hours!! 😉 Welcome back!
Thanks, Cristina!
Welcome home! I well know the feeling of happiness to return to your kitchen! Beautiful crisps – they’re one of my favorites, and with all the apples that will come into season shortly, I foresee a lot in the future…with lots of ice cream 🙂
When I’m no longer on a self-imposed ice cream ban, I’ll definitely be scooping some up with these crisps! 🙂
Welcome home! Those are incredibly cute apple crisps. I love the red ramekins.
Thanks! The red ramekins are some of my favorite kitchen tools right now. 🙂
wow, welcome back from Maui! Sounds fabulous! Really enjoying your pictures, everything looks deeeelish 🙂
Isn’t it sad that we get half as much in the end for the SAME calories?! I love crisps of any kind, though, and they go well with hot tea or coffee – so you’re set with your mugs of black tea!
Glad your back relaxed and refreshed, delicious looking apple crisps!
Ah! It’s nice to be back to our kitchen after some time out. The apple crisp looks lovely, I loved the red ramekins.
Oh, this looks so delicious! I know the feeling when you finally get back into the kitchen – it’s so exciting.
Vacation in Maui…that must have been lovely! Apples are starting to pop up everywhere, so you have perfect timing with this recipe. 🙂