For the fifth consecutive year, Chris and I went apple picking around our wedding anniversary. We’ve had a few years practice figuring out what to do with all those fall apples. Sixteen pounds, to be exact!

One of the easiest fall apple desserts is apple crisp. I remember when I was in grade school my mom signed me up for a cooking/baking class for kids. We learned how to cook and bake a few simple recipes, including apple crisp. This is a great treat to bake with the kiddos, too!

Most apple crisp recipes call for a fare amount of sugar. After all these months working from home, I’m trying to be more conscious about having healthier snacks around the house. My parents make their own maple syrup, so I end up having plenty of syrup jugs in our pantry. I subbed a majority of the sugar with maple syrup and it turned out pretty darn good (and healthier) than your typical apple crisp recipe.

Since sugar is subbed with syrup there is more liquid in the bottom. I would suggest baking uncovered.

This recipe has grown up with me over the years and despite removing some of the sugar I added a tbsp of naughty 😉

Ingredients

Crisp Topping

• 1/3 c. flour
• 1/3 c. oats (not instant!)
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 c. cold butter cut into tiny cubes

Apple Mixture

• 6 Apples- peeled, cored and sliced thin
• 1/3 heaping c. of maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. bourbon or cognac (whatever you prefer)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 baking pan with nonstick foil.
2. Topping: Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Mix in the cubed butter with your hands until well incorporated and you have a crumbly mix. Set the mixture aside. (I made sure Celeste had clean hands and she LOVED helping with this step!)
3. Combine apples, syrup, booze, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir until completed mixed.
4. Place the apples in the baking pan. Sprinkle the crisp topping covering the apples evenly.
5. Bake on top of a sheet (to avoid bubbly spills) for ~50 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

An important notable is that we picked Honeycrisp apples this year. Not all apples are created equal for baking and eating! I found this great infographic and this website describes the differences between types of apples with great detail.