Receta Homemade Apple Crisp
OK, folks, Cheap Bastid hasn’t been around in a couple of weeks. That’s because I am now employed again as a bastion of the automotive industry selling cars.
Anyhow, before I have to hit the shower and get my game face on, I thought I’d post a recipe. It’s one I’ve “developed”, “synthesized”, “plagiarized” or created a couple of years ago and made enough times to finally start getting it “right”. And, I haven’t posted about it because I didn’t have any photos.
So, yesterday I had the day off—thank goodness because the day before stretched from a scheduled 6 ½ hour day to a 14 hour day and I was worn out—and I thought that one way to rest would be to plan a good dinner and make a dessert to go along with it. So, I ran to Frazier Farms for apples and raw oatmeal to make Apple Crisp. Then, in the middle of making it I discovered that I was out of cinnamon—so it was off to the dollar store because it needed it for the crisp and for the sweet potatoes I was going to grill. And the results were pretty doggone good for not having made this dessert in a while.
If you’re looking for a tasty dessert that’s quick and easy to prep and which meets the Cheap Bastid budget criteria (in a word—cheap!), give this Apple Crisp recipe a try. Have some vanilla ice cream on hand to plop on it while it’s still warm too.
Summary: Here’s a tasty, easy and cheap dessert just like Grandma used to make–Homemade Apple Crisp. You’ll love it!
Ingredients
- 6-8 apples (Granny Smith, Gala, or Fuji)
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar (divided)
- 2 sticks butter or equivalent amount (12 tbsp) margarine (divided)
- 1 ½ cups flour (divided)
- 1 lemon or lime
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups oatmeal or multi-grain raw cereal
Instructions
Take out a 9×9 baking dish and a medium mixing bowl. Lightly grease the baking dish. Core and cut the apples into chunks and put into one of the bowls. Preheat oven to 350.
Cut the lemon or lime and squeeze the juice into the bowl with the apples. Add ¾ cup brown sugar, ½ stick butter or margarine (melted), 2 tablespoons flour, salt (about ½ tsp), cinnamon (1 tsp or so—I use more because I like the flavor and aroma) and ½ tsp nutmeg (I use more). Mix all this together with the apples and then dump the whole thing into your baking dish.
Rinse the bowl and add the rest of the brown sugar (3/4 cup), 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg (both of those more or less depending on taste), 1 ½ cups flour, the oatmeal and 1 ½ stick butter/margarine at room temp. Mix all this together really, really well with a spoon or with your fingers until it resembles a coarse, crumb-like mixture. Make sure to incorporate the dry stuff really well with the butter/margarine. Dig deep to the bottom of the bowl to make sure you get everything mixed.
Cover the apples with this mixture. You can use your fingers or glop it on with a spoon and use the back of the spoon to spread it out.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until the apples are tender and crust is golden One hint, put the baking dish on a cookie sheet in the oven just in case there’s a spill-over of the filling. That can help you avoid a gooey, messy clean-up in the oven. It’s easier to scrub a pan than the oven!
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 40 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 8
Serve this with some vanilla ice cream or by itself. You’ll love it. Like anything you bake, it may take a couple of times to get it “down” and you may find yourself fine-tuning the amount of apples and amount of topping you use. But this is old-fashioned, tasty-good stuff!
The Cheap Bastid Test: Here we go on the budget thing again. The apples were on special for $.77 per pound and I bought 2 lbs. So that’s a buck and a half. The next priciest thing was the butter/margarine. Margarine is cheaper/healthier and get it for $1 for 16 oz and used about 1/3 of a container. I get butter at the dollar store for a buck for a half pound. So using margarine, I spend about $.35 and about $.75 for butter. The rest of the ingredients will set you back about $.50. Total budget for this adds up to under $3! And, it makes 9 nice-sized servings.
Give it a try. It’s tasty. It’s homemade. It’s “old fashioned”. It’ll make your house smell good.
That’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good, Eat Cheap, Be Grateful!