Maple Walnut Apple Crisp

Today was my oldest daughter's first parent accompanied field trip.  We went to Erie Apple Orchard and got to pick apples, pick out a pumpkin, go for a hay ride, see how apple cider is made and of course eat cider and donuts.  The sun was trying to peak out after days of rain and the air was crisp as it should be in fall.  It was a great start to the many field trips to come and made us all want a nice warm yummy fresh apple crisp.  Here is our family's favorite recipe.  After trying Maple syrup I don't think I'd go back to sugar on the apples, it's so good!  And it's even good enough you don't have to top with ice-cream, although we often do

Recipe Modifications

• This recipe is from Cooking Light so it's still yummy but light.  Well I take away a bit of the light because I love the topping so I use 1 1/2 the amount the recipe calls for
• I am eating milk free so I substituted Fleishman's unsalted margarine for butter
• I never measure the apples I just fill up my pie plate all the way to the top.  I also eye the maple syrup and let the girls sprinkle the cinnamon.  You don't need allot of syrup and we always use real Maple Syrup
• Make sure you really work the crumple until all the ingredients combine into a nice true crumble.  There shouldn't be allot of loose sugar and flour.  For some reason it took me years to learn this!  And buying a cheap pastry blender is so much easier than using the double knife method
• You can use many types of apples for this.  Most fruit markets will suggest of have signs for apples that are good for baking

Ingredients

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup regular oats

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup chilled butter or stick margarine, cut into small pieces

3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

7 cups sliced peeled Rome apple (about 3 pounds)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Recipe

This recipe comes from my favorite source Cooking Light. Not diet food, but food that is conscious of health without losing any flavor. Food for life! 

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