Gorgeous Cinnamon Apple Crisp / Crumble

Last weekend, my hubby and I joined the Apple Picking trip organised by the residence committee. It was so fun to be able to pick your own apples. As a tropical gal from Singapore, apples are imported. As ignorant as I can be, I was ill-informed about the different types of apples and how they tasted differently. In the apple farm, there were several varieties of apples. There were Delicious, Cortland, McIntosh and Empire. It was quite an experience to pluck and taste the apples fresh off the trees. 

We were told that the sweetest and reddest apples are at the top of the tree. There were ladders around for us to hunt for the best apples. After tasting all the different types of apples, we like Delicious more. It is the sweetest. The others are little tart. Nevertheless, we got a little of everything. Oh no... my refrigerator is going to be packed with apples. 

I want to make apple dessert and didn't want to spend too much time making dough for a tart so Apple Crisp it is! Well, some people call it Apple crumble too. 

Recipe (8" x 8" tray) Good for 5 servings

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 2 Big Red apples (I chose Empire), thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 pinch nutmeg powder

Topping:

• 1/4 cup plain flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 pinch cinnamon powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup granola (optional)

Steps:

1. Preheat the over to 180 degree Celsius/ 350 degree Fahrenheit. 
2. Mix the ingredients for the filling in a big mixing bowl. 
3. Place the mixed ingredients in a 8"x8" baking tray.
4. In a clean mixing bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon powder and salt. 
5. Add in the cut butter. 
6. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients such that you get pea size lumps. 
7. Add in chopped walnuts and granola. Mix lightly. 
8. Sprinkle over the filling. 
9. Bake for about 35 minutes. 
10. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. 
11. Best served with vanilla ice-cream.