Brown Butter Apple Crisp
12:14 PM
Let's not talk about how it's not even 11:00 in the morning and I've already caught myself eating cookie dough. Let's also not talk about how I wore the same sweatpants outfit (Sweatfit? TM Pending) 2 days in a row this week. Instead let's talk about how it's the weekend, and it's just barely starting to feel like fall over here in Southern California, and I'm just trying to make up for lost time.
Let's also talk about spiced apples smothered with browned butter crumbles and baked up into cobbler. It's way more important.
Browned butter is definitely my favorite kitchen trick. Plain butter is slowly cooked to a brown color, giving it a caramel-y, nutty flavor/magical qualities. It's a real life Pretty Woman situation, right there in your kitchen.
When I first learned that you could brown butter, I was instantly obsessed. I put browned butter in any recipe I could get my hands on. Cookies, caramel corn, cake, banana bread, you name it. I was like Oprah on her Favorite Things episode, except instead of handing out cashmere sweaters, I was throwing browned butter into everything.
My absolute favorite place to shove browned butter is cobbler (and consequently, my favorite place to shove cobbler is my face.)... ( I don't know.)
Let's talk about apples for a second. You can't just throw any old apples into your baked goods and expect good results. For baked goods, I recommend a tart apple, like a granny smith, or a pink lady, or a honeycrisp (if you are fancy and/or are cooking for the queen). For my apple crisp, I stuck with granny smith, which are typically the cheapest of the three. They baked up perfectly.
Also, be sure to serve your cobbler with a good vanilla ice cream. It's the weekend. You deserve it.
Also, just as a tip, this crumble topping works great with a lot of fruits. I've used it to cover peaches and all sorts of berries (although I usually take out the cinnamon when I cook with berries). You can definitely play around with the fruit. I've been thinking about throwing it over some pears or pumpkin, but that's just between you and me.
Brown Butter Apple Crisp
4 cups tart apples (about 4-5 apples) thinly sliced (and peeled, if you're into that)
1/2 cup butter, browned (instructions below)
1 cup oats
1/2 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
To brown butter: Over medium low heat, melt butter. Once butter is melted, stir constantly until butter turns a brown color or you start to see brown flecks coming up from the bottom. Be sure to keep an eye on it, butter tends to go from brown to burnt real quick. Once the butter is brown, remove it from the heat and pour into separate glass or metal container until you are ready to use. If you are still confused, America's Test Kitchen always has the answer.
For the apple crisp:
Preheat your oven to 375 F.
Place sliced apples in 9X9 or 8X8 pan (I used a pie sized pan, but I had to cut down on the amount of apples to do it)
Mix butter with remaining ingredients until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated into the butter. Sprinkle evenly over the apples. Bake for 25 minutes until topping is crispy and apples are cooked through.
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2 comments
This makes me wish I'd gone to Grandma's house and picked apples this year. The recipe looks amazing. I made peach crisp in September for a family party, and it was a horrific train wreck. Darn you, Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I'll try your recipe next time.
ReplyDeleteAs good as your recipe looks, I'm also looking at your pictures. Do you take these pictures? They're lovely and straight-out-of-a-magazine good! You're kind of a triple threat... amazing recipes, clever writing, and beautiful pictures. Looking forward to your next post!
Laurel,
DeleteYou are too nice! I take my pictures with my iPhone in front of a bright window, and then I use an online photo editor. I basically have no idea what I'm doing. So I mostly just try to have as much fun as possible.
Let me know what you think of the apple crisp if you make it!