Kitchen Report

Honeycrisp apples

People in my small world this fall have been talking about Honeycrisp apples. I hadn’t really known they existed until I selected one from a prominent display at Whole Foods to take back to my desk. The Monitor’s art director passing by spotted it and remarked, “Is that a Honeycrisp apple? They are so good!” The following week my cubicle mate held one aloft like a trophy and simply declared, “Honeycrisp!”

They are very crisp, juicy, and sweet. And they are a fairly new apple on the block having been cross-pollinated in the Midwest in the 1960s and released to the commercial market in the 1990s.

Most people seem to prefer just snacking on a Honeycrisp after a good polish, but I thought I would bake them into an apple crisp, even though traditional recipes call for tart apples.

The result: Oh my. Yum.

Honeycrisp apple crisp

Honeycrisp Apple Crisp

Ingenuity

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter
5 Honeycrisp apples

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

For the topping: Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a bowl. Cut in butter. Add mixture to a food processor and pulse until crumbly.

Peel and core apples, and slice them into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange apple slices in baking dish. Spoon topping evenly over the apples.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Drift heavenward.

Serves 4 to 6.