My break tonight consisted of a trip to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for my favorite fall/holiday dessert to make...Apple Crisp.  Admittedly, I've been making the same recipe for so long, that I don't remember where I got it.  Certainly, both my immediate and extended families never made apple crisp for the holidays, so I have no clue where it came from.  All I know is it is yummy and delicious.

I start with about five to eight good sized Granny Smith Apples.  If you are in-the-know, you understand that using a nice tart apple like the Granny Smith helps to offset the sweetness of the crisp topping.  This is true of any baked apple product.  The only time I opt for a sweeter apple is when there is minimal sugar involved.  Anyway, so I start with the apples.  Core them; peel them; slice them.  Then toss them with some lemon juice.  The acid in the lemon juice will keep the apples from browning.

Truly the best part of the apple crisp is the crisp.  Top it with Breyer's Natural Vanilla ice cream, and it's a winner beyond measure.  The crisp is made of rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter.  Now, the butter does not make it the healthiest dish.  However, butter will make the oats and sugar and cinnamon bake together into the yummy crispy goodness it is.  I usually make more than the recipe calls for because the crisp topping is the best.  Let's face it.  You know it's true.

I cook it, and then I serve it warm.  And as I said before, it requires Breyer's Natural Vanilla ice cream.  Whipped cream doesn't cut it with this apple crisp.  Ok, I suppose ANY vanilla ice cream would work.  But I'm partial to Breyer's.  It has just the right level of "sweet" and that's the truth.

After making my first apple crisp of the season, I start to think about Christmas Cookies.  And so, tonight, in the wee hours of the morning when I return home from work, I will commence the preparation of our first Apple Crisp of the season.