Apple Crisp with Brandy and Spices
Iain Bagwell
Our favorite formula for the classic crisp topping—equal parts old-fashioned oats, flour, and brown sugar, plus plenty of butter—bakes up tender enough to meld with the fruit but firm enough to support a scoop of ice cream. In terms of apples, Gravensteins, a lumpy, red-striped variety prized since the early 1800s, have exceptional aroma and sweet-tart flavor, if you can find them. But all three of the tart-sweet apple choices below require only a touch of sugar and lemon, and they take well to generous amounts of spices and brandy.
How to Make It
1
Preheat oven to 350°. Make streusel: In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. With your fingers, squeeze and rub butter into oat mixture until butter is completely blended and coarse lumps form. Set aside.
2
Make filling: In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except apples. Add apples and toss to coat. Transfer to a shallow 2 1/2- to 3 1/2-qt. baking dish, such as a 9- by 13-in. one. Scatter streusel on top.
3
Bake until streusel is browned and apples are tender when pierced, 55 minutes to 1 1/4 hours (some apple varieties bake faster than others), tenting with foil if streusel starts to get dark before apples are done. Let cool on a rack at least 20 minutes.
Ingredients
Streusel
1 cup each regular rolled oats, flour, and packed light brown sugar
¾ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp kosher salt
10 tbsp cold salted butter, chopped
Filling
1 ½ tbsp each packed light brown sugar and lemon juice
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp each ground allspice and ground cloves
¼ cup apple brandy such as Clear Creek
3 lbs Gravenstein, Pink Lady, or Gala apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 3⁄4 in. thick (9 cups)
Directions
1
Preheat oven to 350°. Make streusel: In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. With your fingers, squeeze and rub butter into oat mixture until butter is completely blended and coarse lumps form. Set aside.
2
Make filling: In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except apples. Add apples and toss to coat. Transfer to a shallow 2 1/2- to 3 1/2-qt. baking dish, such as a 9- by 13-in. one. Scatter streusel on top.
3
Bake until streusel is browned and apples are tender when pierced, 55 minutes to 1 1/4 hours (some apple varieties bake faster than others), tenting with foil if streusel starts to get dark before apples are done. Let cool on a rack at least 20 minutes.
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