Apple Crumble — The Dirt on Vegetables

Tightly woven pie tops are beautiful and I always admire when a pie is adorned with leaf crust cut-outs, but when it comes to what tastes best- I'm a crumb topping kind of gal. Apple crumble is one of the cures to rid me of the post summer blues. "Once the cold really sets in I start long for those long summer days, but when I make a warm and festive crisp it helps me embrace the autumn chill.My mother is known for making an incredible apple pie. Whenever we get together for holidays, my cousins always request for Aunt Donna to bring her apple pie to the occasion. I have been using her recipe for years, especially when I moved to Cambridge because whenever I miss her, a slice of apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream makes me smile and I thank her with each bite.

(My mother sent me a picture of this book where she found her apple pie recipe. She has been using since the age of fifteen).

I work as a private chef for a family here in Cambridge once a week, and last fall I whipped up this apple pie for them for the first time. They devoured it in two days and their teenage son would request it to be on the menu every week!Since I was making pie for this family so often, my client asked me if I would try making it into a crumble in order to reduce some calories. At first I thought, "It's dessert. What's the point of trying to cut calories on this one?" The truth is that eliminating the crust cut out about 1,000 calories! WHOA! That's nothing the snub your nose at. Thus, my version of an apple crumble was born.If you've been apple picking this season, I urge you to make this crumble. After you peel the apples, make sure you slice them very thinly.My personal opinion is that the best part of this crumble is the topping. It's a perfect combination of sugar, butter, and flour. It takes all of my strength not to eat the topping straight out of the food processor.If you want a way to make new friends and keep the old... bake this bad boy. It's a sure thing. My favorite apples for pies and crisps are Cortland, Figi, Granny Smith, and Northern Spy.

Apple Crumble

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Michele Wolfson

Ingredients

Filling:
5 cups thinly sliced pared apples, I used granny smith
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of salt
Crumb Topping:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (all-purpose flour works too)
½ cup firm butter, cold and sliced
½ cup brown sugar (packed)

Instructions

Heat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
Then, slice apples and mix them with your dry sugar/flour mixture.
Place all topping ingredients in a food processor and blend.
Put apple mixture in a baking pan and then cover with topping. Place on a baking sheet that is covered with tin foil.
Bake for 45-50 mins. If the pie starts browning, use another piece of tin foil to cover pie while it's baking to prevent the top from burning.