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My foodie friend, Colleen from Souffle Bombay, was recently thinking about what cookbook made her fall in love with cooking, then she decided to ask the same question to a number of her foodie friends, myself included, and #CookbooksandCalphalon was born! Enjoy 17 food bloggers’ stories as well as the recipes that go along with them as we celebrate our love of cooking and the perfect pairing of Cookbooks & Calphalon!

Homemade Apple Crisp

I grew up “plain”. From 6 to 13 my family was in several conservative Mennonite Churches. The reasons we entered are long, and the reasons we left, just as long. Memories of “growing up plain” aren’t always the fondest but one of the best things I learned was how to cook and bake. Those were the only “household chores” I enjoyed. I remember my first cookbook. In fact, I still have part of it. I can no longer find the cover or first third of the book but in flipping through its pages I do remember the first recipe I ever tried was a simple apple crisp.

Making Apple Crisp

I remember being around 10 when I received that cookbook. I wasn’t proud of that cookbook because “plain folk aren’t suppose to be proud folk” but I was pleased as punch and felt pretty special. I was determined to make every single recipe in that book. I never did get that far, but my favorite was apple crisp. It was so simple but also so delicious. Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or cold milk, it was dessert or could even be breakfast.

making apple crisp topping

It’s been a long time since I used that recipe. In digging out the cookbook I found the recipe in my mind is really quite different now, and instead of getting more difficult, it has gotten more simplistic. I have a few tricks up my sleeve but for today we are going with simple being better. Fall will give me plenty of time to reveal those tantalizing recipes.

apple crisp and cookbook

Print

Simple Apple Crisp

  • Author: Heather McCurdy
  • Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • Apple Layer:
  • 8 cups apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • Topping Layer:
  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup salted butter, softened

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375.
  2. Mix together ingredients for apple layer and spread in 9 x 13 dish.
  3. Mix together topping ingredients until crumbly.
  4. Spread over top of apples.
  5. Bake 30-40 minutes, until apples are soft and topping is lightly browned.

Of course, with all this focus on favorite cookbooks we need to have a giveaway, right? However, you can’t cook without cookware and you can’t use cookware unless you can cook so we are hosting an awesome Cookbooks AND Calphalon Giveaway to help round out your kitchen! A big thank you to Calphalon and Page St. Press for giving away these great products.

Also, don’t forget the Calphalon promotion for #CouplesCooking that I told you about here or the other Calphalon giveaway HERE. Calphalon’s just falling from the sky on Real: The Kitchen and Beyond these days!

Follow the #CookbooksandCalphalon fun on social media for great recipes, tips and more and good luck in BOTH giveaways!

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36 Comments

  1. I will take a fruit dessert over a chocolate dessert any day! This looks like a perfect fall recipe. Can’t wait until it’s apple season because I know I will be making this!

    1. Thanks so much! I am so happy that it is early apple season here with Earligolds and Rambos. Earligolds are my new favorite apple for sauce and baking.

  2. My first cookbook was a microwave cookbook. It was for kids in the 80’s. It was awful. BUT as an 8 year old at the time, I was amazed that I could look at a recipe, follow directions and make something edible. So while it may have been a LAME cookbook, it was the “gateway drug” to a love for cooking!

  3. The recipe looks delicious but I have to tell you that the cookbook that made me fall in love with cooking was the red Betty Crocker Cookbook and that was over 30 some years ago.

    1. I have an umpteenth edition of that book. It’s a great one but I have only had it a few years. Thank you so much for sharing the cookbook you love.

  4. Sometimes the simplest recipes are also the best, especially when they evoke favorite childhood memories. I love that you still have parts of that first cookbook, Heather, and still enjoy baking from it. Your apple crisp looks wonderful!

  5. The recipe is a good base and jumping off point. You can tweak it depending on which fruit you find in season or in your yard ripening. This made with fresh cherries is amazing!

    1. Yes!! This is also my exact goal -start simple and start playing around with it. I love peaches and ginger as another combo and cherries would be amazing. I might sneak a little dark chocolate in with my cherries.

  6. “I still have part of that cookbook” lets me know how much you used it! I didn’t grow up “plain” as in Mennonite, but I did grow up eating some pretty plain food. Not in a bad way, just in a not-so-adventurous way. Now I can be as adventurous as I want, although as you say, sometimes simple is better. =)

    1. I know what you are saying! Sometimes I love to go back to my roots with some of our “traditional” dishes but I am all about spice. I love using spices and trying all sorts of ethnic meals.

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