Fall is in the air and so is...Apple Crisp!

A couple of weeks ago, I wanted to make John something special for dessert just because. Knowing that he is not at all a chocolate person, I asked him if he could have anything at all that night home made for dessert for him, what would he choose? And he chose Apple Crisp. I didn't have a go to recipe that I use for this, so I decided to try something new. I finally came across a Peach Crisp on Pioneer Woman's Blog (http://thepioneerwoman.com/). I decided to change it up to make it an apple crisp, and also to try the amazing maple cream sauce that she accompanied with hers. John is more of your traditional dessert guy, so he had vanilla ice cream on his, but I made and tried the Maple Cream Sauce, and it is just as Pioneer Woman says in her entry-" And DO NOT taste it. It’s evil and lethal and rude." It was YUMMY!!!!!!!!! So yummy that I couldn't stop thinking about it and had to have it again the next night. I am so glad that I found this recipe so that I can use it as my go to Apple Crisp. As usual my photo doesn't do it justice, but gives you hopefully a little mouthwatering taste of it. Enjoy!

Apple Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce:

1 C Flour

1/2 C Sugar

1/2 C Firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 Tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 Tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 Tsp salt

1 Stick Butter (or 1/2 C)

5-6 C peeled and cubed apples

Zest from 1/2 of a lemon

2 Tbsp real maple syrup

1 1/2 C Heavy whipping cream

5 Tbsp real maple syrup

3 Tbsp light corn syrup

Mix together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Take the butter, cut it into bits (hint: use butter right out of the fridge so its easier to cut), and add to the bowl. With a fork (or pastry cutter, whatever makes your skirt fly up), begin mixing the butter with the flour mixture until the butter is evenly mixed in.

In a separate bowl, mix the apples, lemon zest and 2 Tbsp maple syrup.

Pour the apple mixture into a 9 inch square baking pan (or similar). Add the dry ingredients on top. Lightly even out the mixture with a fork. Cover it with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 min. After fifteen minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until top is crisp and brown. Sometimes I let it bake for 25 minutes or so, then crank on the broiler for a couple of minutes just to get the top nice and bubbly and crisp. If you do this, though, DO NOT walk away from the oven to answer the doorbell or change laundry loads. You’ll never forgive yourself.

While the crisp is baking, mix the heavy whipping cream, 5 Tbsp maple syrup, and corn syrup over medium heat in a saucepan. Stir together and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and reduced by about 1/3. This should take about 15 minutes. No need to stir vigorously or anything; just enough to prevent sauce from sticking to the pan.Now. You can chill it in the fridge until it’s cold and thick. OR, you can take this shortcut: set the saucepan into a small bowl of ice. The ice will melt a little and turn to ice water, and as you stir the sauce, it will cool and thicken. Within about fifteen minutes, it’s cold!

When done, drizzle maple sauce over crisp and enjoy!

Adapted from: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/07/peach_crisp_wit/