My husband loves apple crisps. He has fond memories of his mother, Barbara, making them on cool evenings in Chicago and later at their family farm. I had apples in the house to use up, rolled oats and black walnuts harvested locally in Missouri and purchased at my farmer’s market. I needed the rest of the recipe, so I text my mother-in-law, asked for directions and started peeling apples.
It occurred to me as I was making the apple crisps how nutritious the ingredients were. Granted, baking zaps a lot of the good stuff right out of our foods. But at least the contents were natural and full of health benefits. Green apples are a good source of dietary fiber and Vitamin C. Black walnuts are a good dietary source of essential fatty acids (avoid if pregnant). And oats are a good source of dietary fiber, phosphorus selenium, and manganese. Then there’s cinnamon, one of my favorite spices because it has vitamin K, iron and calcium.
Like always, I tweaked my mother-in-law's recipe a bit based on what was in my house:
Mother-in-Law’s Apple Crisps
4 cups of peeled apples
½ cup organic brown sugar
½ cup of old-fashioned rolled oats
1/8 cup chopped black walnuts
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 tbsp. cinnamon
3 tbsp. of natural, unsalted butter
Heat oven 350 degrees. Butter an 8x8 baking dish. Peal apples and chop into cubes. Add to dish along with brown sugar, oats, walnuts and cinnamon. Mix well. Add butter cubes evenly on top. Bake for 25 minutes. Mix the ingredients and bake another 20. Makes 6 servings.
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