When Our Paths Cross: Cast Iron Skillet Apple Crisp (Caroline)

I used a 9" cast iron skillet for this batch of apple crisp. If you choose to do the same, or to use an 8" pan, halve the recipe below. If using a 9"x13", make the full batch.

I recommend a variety of apples from the list below. Around here (Utah), I think the best places for produce are Winco, "whole"/organic food grocers, and the local farmer's markets. Winco is cheap, the whole/organic grocers tends to have higher quality, locally grown, organic, etc. produce, and the farmer's markets have the best of both worlds-- local, usually organic, and cheap.

Pink Lady
Gala
Fuji
Golden Delicious
Granny Smith
Honeycrisp

The first time I used this recipe, I made it with Jazz apples, left out the liquid, and it was a bit dry, and the apples went slightly mushy. I had the best results with this recipe when I used some locally grown Golden Delicious and Pink Lady apples and I used homemade apple cider as the liquid instead of water. With the batch in the pictures, I only used Granny Smith (because I have a TON from when we went to the farmer's market and I don't like to eat them plain). The problem with this was that I think the Granny Smith's released more water while they were baking than the other varieties of apples. So, if you use Granny Smith, I recommend leaving out the extra water that this recipe calls for.

Also, I like spices. So, I'd say I'm liberal when I'm adding spices to my apple crisp. Feel free to adjust the measurements of spices depending on your taste.

Ingredients:

For the apple filling:

8-10 medium/large apples, peeled, cored, sliced thinly (I usually get 16 slices out of 1 apple)

1/2 c sugar

1 tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp clove powder

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 - 1/2 c water or apple juice or apple cider

For the crisp topping:

1 c brown sugar

1 c all purpose flour

1 c oats (I use rolled, but quick oats should be fine, too)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c melted butter

While I'm slicing my apples, I like to keep the finished slices in a large bowl with enough water to cover all of the slices and a teaspoon or two of lemon juice. This keeps the apples from turning brown while I mix up the other ingredients. When I'm ready for the apples, I drain them and place them in the pan.

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 c sugar, 1 tbsp flour, and your spices.

In another bowl, combine 1 c of flour, brown sugar, and oats, along with the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir them together, then mix in 1/2 c (one whole cube) of melted butter.