One could argue that fall in Minnesota is essentially over. We’ve already had a couple of weeks of snow and bitter cold. The down jackets and Sorels are in constant rotation. But today, it’s 40 degrees! The snow has melted and we can see the leaves in our front yard that we never found the time to rake. Knowing that five months of winter are on the horizon, I’ve decided to squeeze out as much Minnesota fall as I can today.

Jeremy and I had a CSA this summer… a HALF CSA share. Like most normal people in the world who optimistically order their CSA share in the spring, we had a pretty hard time using all of our produce every week. That’s why, a week before Thanksgiving, I still had a huge bowl of amazing apples in a bowl on my counter. But let’s be honest, they weren’t really looking all that amazing today. They were probably about a week away from being tossed into the woods for the deer.

But, with a little bit of creative paring knife work, I was able to save most of them!

I was excited to find this apple crisp recipe in grandma’s recipe box for a couple reasons. First… apple crisp… need I say more? But look at the two recipes below! The one on the left is one I copied out of my mom’s recipe box when I moved to Chicago when I was 21. (Please forgive the embarrassing typo of “walnets.”) I pulled out this recipe earlier this fall and realized that I never copied over the amount of butter to use! When I made it I used one stick. Note grandma’s original recipe on the right calls for TWO sticks. Clearly everything is better with more butter. Thanks, grandma.  The final thing I love about this recipe is that minus the missing butter… the recipe is the same almost word for word. It’s like I just got a hug from grandma.

Now for the recipe. Start by cleaning your apples. It’s the worst part really… but good things come to those who peel and chop apples.

Next… when your baby starts crying in the middle of baking delicious, gooey apple goodness…. strap him on and keep peeling.

When preparing your 9×9 baking dish, I suggest just grabbing a fingerful of the soft butter on your counter and smearing it along the bottom and sides. Fill 2/3 of the way to to top as grandma clearly writes, and you’re good to go.

Next you’ll get your ingredients together for the streusel topping. The recipe calls for quick oats. I only had old fashioned oats. I think they work just fine.

The recipe doesn’t explicitly tell you to do anything with the walnuts, but it would be a crime not to toast them first. Stove top toasting is my method of choice. Just don’t forget about them. They go from perfectly toasted to burnt pretty fast.

The streusel topping is pretty easy. I used a full 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, because 1/4 teaspoon seemed stingy. My two big tips are to chop your butter before adding it to your dry ingredients to make your life a little easier. Also, keep it in the fridge until you use it. You’ll want it nice and cold. My butter got a little warm because… you know… kids. But it’s butter and is delicious always.

When pouring your streusel topping on the apples, be gentle. If you pat it down too aggressively your streusel topping will be just a little sad. You want happy, fluffy, crunchy streusel topping.

Bake for 50-60 minutes and serve warm with vanilla ice cream. The vanilla bean kind. And Breyers if you have it. Don’t waste your time with whipped cream.

APPLE OATMEAL CRUNCH aka APPLE CRISP

About 6 medium apples
1 C flour
1 C brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 C butter
1 C quick oatmeal
1/4 C walnuts (optional)

Fill well buttered 9″ x 9″ baking dish 2/3+ full with chopped or sliced apples.

Combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Blend in butter as for streusel topping. Add oatmeal and walnuts. Mix well and pour over apples.

Bake at 350 for 50 to 60 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Update: I just talked to my mom about this recipe and it is actually hers! The credit given on my poorly copied recipe was correct. Grandma copied it over because She liked it so much. Mom got the recipe from one of the old Lutheran church cookbooks from generations and generations of farmers. No wonder there is so much butter in the recipe!