apple crisp recipe.

funny story: i didnt learn to cook until after i got married. its actually been a really slow and sometimes painful trek for me to learn to cook real food, for a really long time apple crisp was one of only a couple of foods i could make by myself. and i dont mean when i was 12, i mean when i was like, 19. heck, i couldnt even make a quesadilla when i was 19. 

anyways, this recipe kind of became my specialty for any time it was my turn to cook anything, because its a totally awesome dessert made entirely from ingredients that are already in most normal pantries. also its super easy, and doesnt dirty a lot of dishes, which is especially important when youre a lazy 19 year old that cant cook to save your life. or the mom of a cranky toddler. 

last night i got an email from my mom saying that after church there was going to be a spontaneous potluck lunch. there wasnt time for me to go out to buy anything, so i needed to bring something that i could make a large quantity of, out of ingredients we already had. naturally i went with apple crisp, since i had recently bought a really disappointing bag of dry, sour apples. and judging by the fact that the entire thing was gone before i even got to the potluck table, i guess people liked it. so heres how you make it:

apple crisp
ingredients:
5-7 granny smith apples, depending on size (this recipe works best with really crappy, sour, and dry apples, if the apples are too sweet and juicy, this basically turns into soup. so save the yummy apples for eating)
1/4 cup pancake syrup 
1 stick of melted butter (you can easily make this recipe vegan by using 1/2 cup earth balance margarine instead)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup oatmeal (rolled oats or quick oats will work)

start by peeling, coring, and thinly slicing all your apples, and put them in a medium sized casserole dish or 9 x 9 baking pan and toss them in the pancake syrup (you could make this a tad healthier by using real maple syrup, but in that case you might need to add some extra sugar for it to come out right), adding a sprinkle of cinnamon if you feel so inclined. then in a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, and oatmeal, and slowly stir in the melted butter to form a crumbly batter. spread the topping over the apples in the pan and bake at 350 until the topping is browned and the apples are bubbling. and thats it! serve warm, preferably with vanilla ice cream.