Some recipes are good enough to serve at the church picnic. Some recipes are fine enough to take to the family barbecue. Other recipes you know will satisfy your office coworkers. Those savages will eat just about anything.
Then there’s the recipe that you pull out of your back pocket when you’re looking for love.
This beautifully simple Apple Crisp recipe is that “get a man (or woman!) and hold on to him (or her!) recipe”. If you already have that man, consider this your “it’s time for a ring” recipe, or your “sorry I scratched the bumper of our new car” recipe, maybe even the “thanks for working so hard today honey… I made the house smell like warm apples with this apple crisp just for you” recipe. See, I’m looking out for you.
This recipe is the perfect balance of warm memories and good love. The warm apples tossed with sugar and cinnamon beautifully collide with the toasted, crunchy topping.
It’s a dream come true.
So the Bake a Warm Apple Crisp and Get a Man experiment hasn’t yet worked for me. That’s mostly because I haven’t tried it yet.
But Ann, the generous lady at Fidget who was kind enough to share this recipe with me, has had oodles of success. She wooed her husband with this very recipe and still has requests for the apple crisp from Mr. Fidget six years later. It works!
Sit and Stay Awhile Apple Crisp
recipe from Ann of Fidget
bake in an 8×8 baking dish or double the recipe and bake in a 9×13 dish
Filling:
5 to 6 medium-size apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices. (About 7.5 cups)
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1.5 tsp cinnamon
Topping:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, well-softened
2/3 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
1/3 cup quick oats
Preheat the oven to 350. Generously grease an 8×8 baking pan with butter.
Place a layer of apple slices in the bottom of the pan and dust with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Continue layering apples and dusting with cinnamon/sugar until done. Toss the apple mixture until evenly coated in cinnamon sugar. The apples should be just about to the top of the pan (they will cook down).
For the topping, place the flour, brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon and oats in a large bowl and stir well with a wooden spoon. Work the butter into the mixture with your fingertips until evenly distributed. Take one full handful of the topping and toss it into the sugared apple mixture. Spread the rest of the topping evenly over the apples. (I usually end up with a dough-like topping that I just lay on top of the apples).
Bake the crisp in the dish on a baking sheet on the center oven rack until the topping is crunchy and the apples are bubbling, 55-60 minutes.
Serve hot; it’s excellent with vanilla ice cream.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:01 pm
hi! i was just wondering if there is a specific apple that works best for this recipe. thanks so much for sharing!
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Oh my gosh. I can SMELL this and I want it!! Looks delicious and as always, great photos that make us all drool!
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:19 pm
hi aimee- i’m sorry i never mentioned it! i used granny smith apples. the super bright and tart kind. you might also try pink ladies. those are nice too!
food librarian- the smell was outta this world. thanks!
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:28 am
Looks like a keeper.
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:52 am
I make an apple crips recipe that’s very similar to this (a bit more oats and a bit less flour for the topping) and I can definitely confirm that it is a winner. It was one of the first things I baked for my now husband–it’s practically foolproof, unlike the some of the other things I tried to bake for him (stupid lemon meringue pie). Looking at yours makes me want to make it again!
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:02 am
Hi Joy! Just thought I should comment on today’s post because a)your crisp looks damn fine, and b)I just made a post on my blog about the recipe that helped me wooe my husband 5 years ago- Cranberry Bread. Funny coincidence, no?
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:17 am
Looks delish…so does everything else here..glad I found your blog
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:50 am
That looks amazingly delicious. I’m definitely making it this weekend.
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:00 am
Wow! That looks soooooooo cinna-mini-deliciousness. Yes, and that’s a word. Just soooo you know.
October 23rd, 2008 at 6:23 am
I’d stick around for a bowl of this crisp. Funnily enough, I’ve made two already this week: my honey isn’t going anywhere!
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:22 am
This looks simply amazing. It may even be better than Mom’s. But SHHHH!!! Don’t tell her I said that!
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:23 am
Perfect time of year for this. This is making me really hungry.
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:30 am
Ooh, and I just got some fresh picked apples from a friend yesterday! Woohoo!!!
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:13 am
I’m so glad you liked it! It’s just pure comfort (and wooing) food to me.
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:27 am
Thanks for this great recipe I ll try it next time I make apple crisp
looks delicious and hey I want my man to love me more :)))
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:01 am
oh i will definitely make this for my boyfriend. He loves anything apple and cinnamon and caramel!!
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:01 am
Looks like the perfect recipe for me to make a treat for my husband! He adores apple crisp.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:10 am
apple crisp is a regular in our house (and also how i wooed my husband)! as a matter of fact, we had an apple crisp last night. it’s so comforting and just plain fantastic!
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:27 am
I have two huge bags of apples in my kitchen…and that looks a fabby cause for some of them!
October 23rd, 2008 at 11:20 am
This apple crips looks fantastic! I love the topping!!
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I absolutely LOVE your site. Whenever I am looking for something to bake, I always come here to see what delicious yummies you have made. Thank you for careing enough to share.
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:27 pm
I have a friend who desperately wants to “get a man!” Maybe we will conduct a little experiment to see if it will work for her and I’ll let you know how it goes. My man will probably be kept as long as I always make sure to have ketchup in the fridge! Gotta love when they’re easy to please!
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:20 pm
What an amazing looking apple crisp!
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:53 pm
First of all, thanks for (sort of) addressing the men and women who are more interested in getting a woman. Secondly, that dish looks simply scrumptious! I think I’ll try that dish to get a woman! I need one haha!
October 24th, 2008 at 9:02 am
I actually dreamt about this last night. No kidding! It really must be a good recipe to travel all that way and get into my head in London! Now I *have* to make it.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:51 am
This looks great!! I just made a pear crisp using my standby apple crisp recipe (but using pears instead, obviously). I bet your recipe would be awesome with pears, too!! Its hard to stray away from apples, though! I’m definitely going to have to try this…it really looks delicious!
October 24th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Today, it’s cold, cloudy, and Friday. My kitchen graciously contains the above ingredients, and my afternoon now has a purpose. If my husband decides to proclaim his love for me (again), I’ll let you know that the Bake An Apple Crisp and Get a Man technique can indeed work for someone other than the crisp’s creator.
October 24th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Thank you for this recipe! It brings back so many memories of living at home with my grandma. The smell of fresh baked apple crisp out of the oven after coming home from school. Love it!
October 24th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Looks fabulous!
I might have to bake this to get myself a man…
October 24th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I’ve seen a lot of apple crisp recipes, but this looks like one of the best!
October 25th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Ahhh… this is a variation on the “vault” recipe from my Grandma. My mom has laminated a copy that was hand written by my Grandma. And yes, my husband loves me even more when I make it!
October 25th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
What an adorable story, and, oh, if only life were always so simple that feeding a boy you liked the perfect apple crisp would make him like you, too.
October 26th, 2008 at 1:26 am
I made this tonight for 2 girlfriends and we devoured it! SO DELICIOUS! I have this urge to make it every night for the rest of my life…
October 27th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
I made this Saturday night for my mom and grandmother who were visiting us to see their new grand daughter. They’re still talking about the apple crisp this morning! Thanks for helping making it a memorable dinner!
October 29th, 2008 at 6:48 am
Update: I tried it, it was fabulous, my house was filled with the delicate aroma of apples and cinnamon.
A winner by all accounts and thanks for sharing this!!!
November 2nd, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Apple crisps are my favourite! This looks great - thanks for posting a new recipe for me to try!
November 10th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Delicious! Add a little vanilla ice cream on top for me and I’m good to go
November 16th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Made this last night w/ some fresh Mac apples for a small gathering of friends - a lovely aroma wafted throughout the whole house! Received many compliments along the lines of “this is the best thing I’ve ever tasted!” and witnessed many orgasmic-like facial expressions. Thanks for sharing, this one takes the cake!
November 20th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Loved your web site. I saw it in the Seattle P.I. this morning and will certainly visit it often. Thought it strange that there was not a Print option for printing the recipes.
Thanks
November 24th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Hello, can you tell me what the best storage method for apple crips is? Should it be kept in the firdge or on the counter, and how long does it stay good for either way?
December 4th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
It Works!!!!! I made it on Saturday and he bought the ring on Monday. Seriously! Thank you a million times over.
Also, I added pears and pomegranete seeds with the apples. Still a wonderfully delicioius dessert and gorgeous color.
December 9th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
This is definitely the first recipe on the “Things To Make When I Have a Boyfriend” list.
December 19th, 2008 at 9:45 am
I’m going to make this for Christmas Eve Dinner!! Yum! Thanks!
December 28th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Hi Joy, me again, to report back that this recipe is success! I had an extra pie crust so I made enough apple filling and crumb coat for a small round pan and for the pie. I cooked down the apples before I put them in the pie crust to try and keep the liquid from making the crust all soggy and it worked! We had some guys over fixing our phone lines the day we made this and they kept commenting on how good the kitchen smelled, I felt bad it wasn’t done until after they were gone…h well, more for me!
Thanks for this one, it will become a standby for sure!
January 6th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
That recipe looks fantastic, but even better are the pictures! What kind of camera do you use?
January 18th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Hello! I just baked this and am scarfing it down as I type! I added pears to this recipe and it is seriously the best thing I have ever made and/or eaten. I want to thank you for posting such amazing recipes!
May 8th, 2009 at 9:40 am
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