Food Friday: Turkey Day Easy...desserts

Several Years ago I was watching Rachel Ray and she had Katie Lee Joel (Billy Joel's former, much younger, wife).  She made a simple recipe for Apple Crisp.  I quickly got to the computer, looked up the show and put that recipe in  my dessert file.  I'm a bit of geek about recipes.  I save the ones I love onto my computer in different files.  This helps when I get cookbooks from the library and find terrific recipes.  Anyhow, it wasn't until after we discovered Cheslea's allergies that I realized this recipe doesn't call for eggs.  I could replace the butter with our vegan olive oil butter (Earth's balance) and use soy or rice milk for the milk.

Here is how I save time with this recipe.  I used presliced apples or preslice them myself ahead of time. This year I'm getting our apples from the Upper Merion Farmer's Market.  So I will wash and slice them the night before our bash.  Once they are tossed in lemon juice to avoid browning, I put them in the baking dish (which has a cool lid) and pop them in the fridge.  Then I make one of my do it yourself mixes.  I put all the dry ingredients in a big bag ahead of time. Think of how you can buy pancake or cake mixes at the store and just add the wet ingredients.  I do this myself ahead and save time and money!  One large bag for the majority of this recipe and one for the topping.  This is a strategy I do with our pancakes, cookies and cakes.  So on those days I just add the wet and begin. I'm all prepped and just before we sit down for dinner I mix in the wet ingredients pour it over the apples, sprinkle the topping and pop it in the oven.  It makes my house smell fantastic!

RECIPE ....(Katie Lee Joel's...not mine :)

Apple Crisp

Ingredients

• 6 large (about 8 cups) Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced (use Granny Smiths for a more tart flavor)
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 1/2 cups sugar, divided
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup whole milk
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup boiling water

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Yields: 6 servings

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Preparation Preheat oven to 325°F.

Place apples in a 13x9” baking dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice and toss to coat.

In a medium bowl, mix together 2 cups sugar, flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt and the cinnamon. Add milk and melted butter, and mix well. Pour batter evenly over apples and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and 1 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle over batter. Evenly pour the boiling water on top then transfer to the oven and bake for 50 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling.