Apple Crisp for boys who like to bet

So my husband...the dear man that I married and who promised to love and honor me no matter what...apparently he has a gambling problem.

Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a bit.  Really there have been only a few times that he has bet on any things and most of them have been in his "money league" for fantasy football which is just a fee to play that is later divided up to the winners.

But last week he decided that he had a different safer way to bet with his friends.  Some kind of game, I don't really know what, but he bet with his friend Jack on who would win, and the stakes?  Well, since he is not really the kind of guy who likes to risk any money he decided to bet that if he lost I would make Jack whatever dessert he wanted.  If he won, Jack would pay him whatever I would normally charge to make that dessert for an order.  He saw it as a win-win.  Of course he did.  I guess I should be flattered that his friends value my baked goods as highly as money!

Well, needless to say, he lost.  And Jack chose an apple crisp, so here we are. 

Recently Joy the Baker posted a list of her favorite recipes, and it included this one for an apple crisp.  I bookmarked it and decided that it would be a fun one to try.

I made a tiny sample of the crisp in a custard cup as well so I could try it before sending it off for his friend and it really was wonderful!  I would have liked it better with whipped cream or ice cream, but I didn't want to whip any up for my tiny bit of crisp.  I meant to take pictures of that too so you could see what it looks like, but it was gone too fast!  (I did NOT, however, save any for hubs.  hmmph. )

I also used my handy-dandy apple peeler/corer and had forgotten how fun it is!  Lovely ribbons of apple peel all over...

sorry the picture is awful but it is 10:00 at night and hubs is taking it to his friend tomorrow morning!

Sit and Stay Awhile Apple Crisp
 from Joy the Baker
 
bake in an 8x8 baking dish or double the recipe and bake in a 9x13 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 8x8 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.