A is for apples and autumnal leaves

You can tell it's fall around our apartment because:

A. There is a homemade apple crisp on the stove (provided by last weekend's apple picking adventure upstate! More pictures are at home ready for a follow-up blog post!)

B. The fall decorations are out, namely my bittersweet candle wreath and my leaf garlands

C. The balcony door is closed because it is chilly out - I don't think this door has been closed since the middle of May!

So let me tell you about this apple crisp. It's my mom's recipe (I actually think that most crisp recipes are probably very similar, yes?) but it is amazing and so easy to make! Do not be intimidated by the crisp!

Ingredients:

10 medium to large apples

Cinnamon and sugar

1 stick of butter

1 cup of oatmeal

1 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of flour plus 1 tbsp.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease baking pan (I always use my 13 X 9 inch glass pyrex but whatever you have on hand will work!)

2. Peel the apples (very important, the first time I ever made crisp on my own, I forgot this step and trust me, the crisp is not very tasty) and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices.

3. Liberally sprinkle the apples with cinnamon, sugar and 1 tbsp of flour (the flour will help thicken the juicy sauce caused by the apples in the cooking process)

4. Mix up the crisp by combining the oatmeal, brown sugar and flour (sometimes I add an extra sprinkle of cinnamon in here). Cut the butter into pea-size cubes and add to mixture. Combine using hands until butter has been completely incorporated into oatmeal mixture (should be crumbly and clumpy)

5. Sprinkle crumble mixture evenly over apples.

6. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

I promise, you can't go wrong! It's so delicious and comforting and keeps well on the stovetop covered in aluminum foil.