Just in time for all your Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving gatherings – here is the promised recipe for apple crisp! If you follow me over on Instagram, you may recall we did a poll about how you prefer your apple crisp. I’m a girl who likes it tart and not overly sweet. I know it’s dessert…but apples are already sweet. When you compliment that natural sweetness with spices and a hit of bright acidity, they really shine and make a recipe sing.

When I did the poll, however, a lot of you prefer it sweet – so I’ll give you direction on which apples to use that will change the notes of the dessert more to your liking without over doing it on the sugar.

Best Apples to use for Tart Apple Crisp: Gala, Honey Crisp, Granny Smith

Best Apples to use for Sweeter Apple Crisp: Mutsu, Jonagold, Golden Delicious

For this recipe, I used Honey Crisp…because I wanted it to be celebratory in honor of Friendsgiving. The more cost effective alternative with bright tart notes would definitely be the Granny Smith. A mixture of 1/2 of each also works great here.

Let’s get to the recipe for the best apple crisp, and we will discuss the table setting after that.

Ingredients:

For the apple filling

• 2 lbs. apples, peeled, cored and sliced into half-moon uniform pieces (see above for apple choices for sweet vs. tart!)
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 tbsp. butter, cubed
• juice of 1 lemon

For the Topping:

• 1 stick of cold butter, cubed
• 1 tsp. cinnamom
• 1 cup AP flour (gluten-free sub a 1:1 GF flour)
• 1 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325. Butter or spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Add the sliced apples to a large bowl, then add the lemon juice and stir.
3. Combine all spices and sugar together, then stir into the apples until evenly coated. Set aside.
4. In a separate large bowl, add the topping ingredients and combine with a fork or pie crust mixer. You can also use clean hands. The idea is to get the ingredients combined to a crumble consistency.
5. Add the apples to the sprayed/buttered pan and add the 4 tbsp. of cubed butter throughout the apples. Then top with the crumble topping.
6. Bake 55-60 minutes on the center rack of your oven. Serve warm topped with your favorite ice cream.

When planning your Friendsgiving…follow a few simple rules: keep it simple, include your guests and borrow what you don’t have!

When I say keep it simple, I mean everything from the menu to the table setting. Simple can be fancy – I’m referring to simplicity on your budget and using what you have. The main dish was Ham instead of turkey because it’s more cost effective during Thanksgiving season, and simpler to cook. The rest of the menu consisted of a variety of roasted veggies, collard greens, scalloped potatoes, a wild rice salad, a cheese platter all paired with some crisp Rosés. We ended the evening with the warm apple crisp.

I included my friends by assigning them a dish or beverage to bring, making it interactive for them as a guest. It could be as simple as a bottle of wine to a cheese platter or side dish – but odds are your guests will love being included and it helps you as well.

For the table setting: I have China from a zillion years ago, so I used that for both the adults and the kids. Finally, I texted a few neighbors for plate chargers and one of them had the most amazing variety that added dimension to the tablescape.

I decided to use a tablecloth I had purchased on amazon for my girls’ birthday party a couple years ago that is 100% sparkle and over the top, which is linked here. Layering texture for visual affect, I added a burlap runner on top followed by a yellow leaf garland and a few white pumpkins from Target’s dollar section. Finally, I brought it all together with some white unscented candles that bounced the best light off the glitter of the tablecloth and chargers.

There you have it: a recipe for the best apple crisp plus a few tips on how to host your own Friendsgiving. More importantly than what’s on the table, however, is those who gather around it. Wishing you a beautiful fall season celebrating with friends and family alike!