"Gingersnapped" Apple Cranberry Crisp

On frequent trips to the grocery store or market, I find myself seeing a beautiful display of fresh produce and can't help but buying an abundance of it. I know, that's where impulse control should come in, but sometimes it just seems to fail me. Now, looking at the bright side, I am able to (usually) control myself in situations where buying an abundance of something would be far more financially destructive. On the other hand, I sometimes end up with more fruit and vegetables than any one person can consume before they go bad. Wanna guess what I bought too many of this time?

Yes, that would be apples. Seeing that I probably couldn't eat them fast enough, I offered to make my dad a warm apple crisp and he was more than willing to take me up on it. I have made many kinds of crisps before and for this one I thought I would try something new. One of the recipes I use actually incorporates graham cracker crumbs into the topping. After opening the cabinet and seeing some gingersnaps, I thought those would be a nice substitution for the graham crackers. The crumbs fill in for some of the flour that is typically used for something like this. It still needs flour, oats, and other common ingredients for a fruit crisp topping, but the gingersnaps add something different.

You will notice that the recipe here asks you to cook the apple mixture for a bit on the stove. You will just begin the cooking process for them. I find that if this is not done, the topping is ready before the apples are tender enough. You certainly don't want them mushy and they don't spend too long on the stove top, but just enough for them to cook to a perfect tenderness. If you happen to like your apples with a bite to them in cobblers and other desserts, you can skip this step, but I personally don't recommend it.

So the next time you are grocery shopping, pick up a few extra apples for this warm delight.

"Gingersnapped" Apple Cranberry Crisp


FILLING:
1/4 Cup sweetened dried cranberries
Hot water
6 Medium peeled, cored, and sliced apples
1 tsp Lemon juice
1TBSP water
1/2 Cup white sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
2 TBSP flour

TOPPING:

1/2 Cup all purpose flour
2/3 Cup gingersnap cookie crumbs (best done with a food processor)
1/2 Cup quick cooking oats
1/3 Cup brown sugar
2 TBSP melted butter
2 TBSP Canola oil
1-2 TBSP apple juice or water

Pour hot water over cranberries. Let sit about 10 minutes; they will begin absorb some of the liquid and become plump. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, toss together the apples, lemon juice, water, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Cook over medium heat until the apples JUST BEGIN to cook and become tender. You do not want the apples to be cooked; the oven will do the rest.

Stir in the cranberries and flour; cook for a minute longer. Pour mixture into a lightly greased, 3-qt baking dish.

For the topping, toss together the flour, crumbs, oats, and brown sugar. With a fork, stir in the melted butter, canola oil, and 1 TBSP juice or water. The topping should resemble coarse, wet sand or unbaked granola. If needed, add another TBSP liquid. You want it to be moist but not sticky. Evenly spread over apples.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until topping is brown and filling is bubbly. Sit on the counter to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Great with low fat whipped topping, frozen yogurt, or light whipped cream.