Fruits make the perfect desserts plain or dressed up. It’s fall and apples are plentiful. This is an easy fallback dessert that I love to make.

First, be sure you have chosen a baking apple. A few choices are: Granny Smith, Jonagold, Macintosh, Jonathon or whatever is growing in your area. (Avoid apples like Red Delicious that are only for eating, not baking.)

Use a two quart casserole dish – no need to grease it
Ingredients:
4-6 baking apples – enough to fill your casserole about half way full
½ cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Topping ingredients:
¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose flour)
¾ cup oats
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 stick butter (1/2 cup) softened

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Core and slice your apples into the casserole dish. (I don’t peel them because that’s where the nourishment is. However, some varieties of apples have chewy peels, so experiment with your favorite and peel if you like.)
3. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon into the apples.
4. In a separate small bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.
5. Add the butter and cut into the dry ingredients until crumbly consistency.
6. Sprinkle the topping over the apples.
7. Bake for 45 min or until the apples are bubbly and the topping is crisp.
8. Serve plain, or with frozen yogurt, ice cream or whipped cream.

My motto is always double the cinnamon and vanilla in recipes. This distinctive cinnamon fragrance will enhance the sweet apples and the crunchy topping.