Apple Crunch Made EASY!

Here's a great simple recipe and illustrated directions for Apple crunch. Apple crunch is a lot like Apple Crisp; but in my opinion, better!  It doesn't matter if you're not a chef or have never made an apple crunch before! Following these illustrated directions ANYONE can cook a perfect apple crunch for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any occasion! And I've supplied directions to reduce or eliminate added sugar and fats! If you still would rather make Apple Crisp, Apple Cobbler or Apple Crumble, click on the links!

Ingredients

Apple layer:

• Apples - 1 quart of peeled, cored, sliced apples. That requires about  8 medium or 5 large apples of fresh, sweet varieties: Best is Honeycrunch.  After that: Gala, Fuji, Jonagold, Red Delicious, Jonathon. If you can't get any of these, then try McIntosh, Winesap, Rome, etc. 
• 3/4 cup of sugar OR 3/4 cup of Splenda (for a lower sugar recipe)
• 1 tablespoon of flour (all-purpose white or wheat - but not self-rising)
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Topping:

• 3/4 cup oatmeal (like Quaker Oats oatmeal - regular or quick cooking, but uncooked - NOT instant or packets of oatmeal mixes; just plain rolled oats)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (it's hard to substitute Splenda for brown sugar, you can do it, but- it won't have the flavor.  You might be able to do 1/4 brown sugar and 1/4 Splenda. If you really want to, you can try honey.)
• 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Optional: ½ cup chopped pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts

Directions:

Step 1- Wash the apples

Just wash them in cold water, no soap. We're going to remove the skins anyway, so don't spend too much time on it. You can remove any stickers that the grocery store put on the apples, though.  Peelers often get suck on those.

Step 2 - Peel the apples

The fastest way to peel the apples is one of these peelers!  With firm apples, it takes about 20 seconds per apple. These apple peelers don't work well on soft, mushy apples or apples with soft spots on them. In that case your stuck with a hand peeler!

Once they're peeled, remove any remaining brown spots (see the photo at left - before removing the blemishes.)

Step 3 - Core and slice the apples

You can use a knife, but the $5 corer/slicer you see in the photo is available at any kitchen store (Bed, Bath and beyond, Wal-Mart, etc.), and is the fastest, easiest way. But any slices that are between 1/4 inch and ½ inch thick will do.

Remove seeds, stems, any hard parts near the seeds and and brown or soft spots.

Prepare a lightly greased baking dish (about 9 inch square, 2 inches deep)  (any shape will do!).  You can use vegetable cooking spray instead of vegetable shortening, if you prefer.

Step 4 - Mix the apple layer

Mix the 1 quart of apple slices with 3/4 cup sugar or Splenda, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 teaspoon of ground Cinnamon. and pour it into the greased baking pan.

Step 5 - Mix the topping's dry ingredients

Mix the 3/4 cup of oats, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in a mixing bowl.

Step 6 - Pour the dry ingredients over apples.

Sprinkle the dry mixture evenly over the apple slices in the baking dish.

Step 7 - Bake

Bake at 375 F for about 45 minutes, or until a fork or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Step 8 - Done

Let it cool until you won't burn your mouth! Serve warm. Makes 8 servings.