Apple Crisp

Time: 1 hour

Yield: 8x8 pan

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
• 3/4 cups pecans or whole almonds, chopped coarse (or chopped fine if mixing topping by hand) (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 1/2-3 pounds fruit of choice (6 cups cut)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 T fresh lemon juice and 1/2 t grated lemon zest from one lemon

Method:

1. For the topping: Place flour, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade.
   
2. Add chilled butter and pulse until mixture moves from dry sand-like appearance with large lumps of butter to a coarse cornmeal texture, about three 4-second bursts.
   
3. Add nuts and pulse until mixture resembles crumbly sand, about five 1-second bursts. Do not overprocess or mixture will take on a smooth, cookie-dough-like texture. (To mix by hand, allow butter pieces to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.
   
4. Meanwhile, mix flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl. Add butter; toss to coat. Pinch butter chunks and dry mixture between fingertips until mixture looks like crumbly wet sand. Add nuts and toss to distribute evenly. Do not overmix.)
   
5. Refrigerate mixture while preparing fruit, at least 15 minutes.
6. Toss cut fruit, sugar, lemon juice, and zest (along with 1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca if using plums as fruit) in medium bowl.
7. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Scrape fruit mixture with rubber spatula into 8-inch square (2 quart) baking pan or 9-inch round deep dish pie plate.
   
8. Distribute chilled topping evenly over fruit; bake for 40 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees; bake until fruit is bubbling and topping is deep golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.
   
9. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Variations:

• APPLE-RASPBERRY CRISP
  
  Follow recipe for Apple Crisp, reducing amount of cut apples to 5 cups (about 3 medium Granny Smith and 2 medium McIntosh) and adding 1 cup rinsed fresh raspberries to fruit mixture.
  
  
• PEACH-BLUEBERRY CRISP
  
  Follow recipe for Peach Crisp, reducing amount of cut peaches to 5 cups (about 5 medium peaches) and adding 1 cup rinsed fresh blueberries and 1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca to fruit mixture.

Source: Cooks Illustrated.