Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 Minutes

Servings: Serves 4-6 people

It’s always good to have a few reliable recipes in your pocket, especially when you are a weekend guest at someone’s house. This one is easy and a real crowd-pleaser. All you need to remember is the crumble ratio of 1-1-1: one cup of flour, one cup of sugar and one stick (actually ½ cup) of butter. The rest is apples any which way you like them. You can put in a big pile of apples and have a heaping layer of sweet, tangy diced apples under the crispy crumb. Or you can keep the apple layer on the thin side so you get more crumble per bite of apples. Pick out your favorite baking dish and let that dictate how many apples to use. Throw in some raisins and walnuts – or not. Vary your type of apples – or stick to tried and true Granny Smith. The crumble works for just about any apple variation that goes beneath.

The splash of maple syrup on the apples is the other secret to making this a special dessert. The syrup will melt with the apple juices and a bit of butter and make the most heavenly sauce around the fruit. You can use either Sugarmaker’s Cut Pure Maple Syrup or Cinnamon-Vanilla Infused Maple Syrup. Either way, set some aside to pour over the crisp when you serve it.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1 Preheat oven to 375 °F.
  • 2 Combine butter, sugar and flour in a bowl. Using your fingers or a fork, blend the ingredients until they resemble cookie crumbs. Don’t blend so much that it becomes a dough. Set aside.
  • 3 Choose a baking dish such as a gratin or soufflé dish and butter it generously.
  • 4 Peel, core and dice enough apples to fill the dish to within an inch of the top. Place a few more dabs of butter over the top and drizzle about 3 or 4 tablespoons of syrup over the apples.
  • 5 Carefully pour the crumble mixture over the apples and spread evenly. If you like the look, go ahead and put some small squares of butter and a few more drizzles of maple syrup over the crumble. Put in the oven.
  • 6 Bake until the juices are bubbly and the top is nicely browned, about 45 minutes.
  • 7 Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and additional maple syrup on the side.