My Afternoon with Apples and Oats
Alright, so I had a bunch of apples sitting around, you know how it gets. Didn’t want them to go bad. Thought I’d whip up a crisp. But, needed it gluten-free this time around, which always adds a little twist to things.
First things first, tackled those apples. Grabbed about six or seven, mostly Honeycrisp I think, maybe a Gala in there too. Washed ’em, peeled ’em – that part’s always a bit tedious, isn’t it? Then got to coring and slicing. Didn’t go too thin, wanted some bite left after baking. Dumped them all into my biggest mixing bowl.
To make the apple part tasty, I just shook in a good amount of cinnamon, maybe a teaspoon or two? A little nutmeg went in too. Didn’t measure exactly, just eyeballed it like usual. Added a squeeze of lemon juice to keep the apples from browning too much and tossed it all together. Didn’t bother with much sugar here, the apples were pretty sweet already.
Getting the Topping Right (Gluten-Free Style)
Now for the crunchy topping, the best part. This is where the gluten-free thing really matters. Had to make sure I grabbed the certified gluten-free rolled oats. Regular oats can get cross-contaminated, learned that the hard way once.
So, in another bowl, I mixed the oats, maybe a cup and a half. Added some gluten-free all-purpose flour blend, about half a cup I reckon. Threw in brown sugar – gotta have that – and more cinnamon. Mixed the dry stuff up.
Then came the butter. Had it cold, straight from the fridge. Chopped it into small pieces and worked it into the dry mix. Used my fingers for this, just squishing it in until it looked like coarse crumbs. Took a few minutes, but you want those little buttery bits. That’s what makes it crisp up nicely.
Putting It Together and Baking
Got my trusty glass baking dish out. Dumped the spiced apples in, spread them out evenly. Then I sprinkled that crumbly oat topping all over the apples, making sure it covered everything right to the edges.
The oven was already heating up, set it to around 375 Fahrenheit, maybe 190 Celsius. Popped the dish in there. Let it bake for, oh, maybe 45 minutes? Didn’t time it exactly. I just waited until the topping was looking golden brown and I could see the apple juices bubbling up around the edges. The kitchen started smelling amazing, that’s always the sign it’s close.
Pulled it out and let it sit on the counter for a bit. It’s tempting to dig right in, but it needs to cool down slightly, lets the filling set up too. Served it up warm. Still pretty darn good, even without the gluten. The topping was crunchy, apples were soft. Job done.