The air is crisp.

The trees have finally decided to show some of their color.

Flyers for fall festivals line the windows of coffee shops and sweaters are being pulled out of closets (or in my case, being bought at Target.)

Fall is finally here! And you will hear me singing, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year…”

A few weeks ago we went apple picking and I was a bit overzealous (surprised?); we decided to fill the large bag instead of the medium sized bag… and we had enough apples to feed our neighborhood for a week.

I decided that I would share the apple crisp recipe that I subsequently used to feed our family and the neighborhood that week. It is THAT good! I don’t think I will ever use a different apple crisp recipe from now on. Partly because I love the memories I made with our neighbors in sharing it with them, and partly because it is so delicious.

Apple-Oat-Pecan Crisp

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp of all purpose flour

• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar

• 1/4 cup plus 6 Tbsp granulated sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 6 Tbsp very cold unsalted butter, cut in 1/2-in pieces

• 1 cup pecans, chopped

• 1/2 cup old fashion rolled oats (not quick or instant)

• 2 1/2lb tart baking apples (about 5 large), peeled, cored, and cut into slices about 1/4-in thick

• Vanilla ice cream, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and set an oven rack in the middle position.

2. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, pulse the flour, brown sugar, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, and the salt until combined. (I used a 1:1 gluten free flour and it worked great!) Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. (Alternatively, the flour, sugar, and salt mixture can be mixed by hand, and the butter can be “cut in” with a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingers.) Transfer mixture to a medium bow and stir in the pecans and oats (I also used gluten free oats here.) Set aside.

3. Generously butter a shallow 2-qt baking dish. In a medium bowl, toss the apples with the remaining 6 tablespoons granulated sugar. (I only used 4 tablespoons as the apples were really sweet and I thought that was more than enough.) Transfer the apple mixture to the prepared baking dish and cover with the pecan-oat mixture. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the apples are tender when pierced and the topping is toasted. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

This recipe was used (and adapted) from Once Upon a Chef by Jennifer Segal