Breakfast Apple Granola Crisp Remix

It's not dessert, but it feels like it!  Today marks my third batch after recently stumbling upon the recipe at SmittenKitchen.  I love the story behind the creation of this crisp almost as much as I love the crisp itself—new mom exhaustion requires something spectacular to look forward to in the early early mornings with baby.  I share this philosophy and for the first year of my son’s life ate raspberry almond coffee cake almost every day.  Alas, I've had to cut back on my coffee cake because I'm the only one who will eat it (it's pretty decadent).  A huge perk of this crisp is that I’ve gotten my son addicted to it as well. He skips the yogurt and mostly eats the apples, but if I’ve gotten a bit of fruit, oat, and flax in him then I’ve done my job.

I tweaked her recipe significantly since I have 2 mothers-in-law that are experts at 1) apple pie, and 2) granola.  I had to pay homage to the family recipes by swapping out cornstarch for flour in my fruit.  The other big change was reducing the lemon to make it tasted more like “less sweet apple pie.”  The lemon tartness may also have something to do with the level of sweet vs. tart in the apples.  I adore Fuji's and they're pretty tart, hence the lessening of the lemon.  I also added raisins and flax because those are my favorite parts of making homemade granola.  I’ll potentially try subbing maple syrup for the honey, but only it just depends on what’s in the pantry.

Breakfast Apple Granola Crisp Remix        

3 lbs apples (giant Fuji’s require less peeling and coring), sliced medium

¼ C raisins

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp lemon

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp cinnamon

Granola topping

¼ C honey

1 stick butter

2 C rolled oats

½ C flour

½ C sliced almonds or chopped pecans

2 tbsp golden flax seeds

Preheat oven to 375°.  In a 13x9x2 Pyrex, mix everything but topping together with your hands.  In a medium saucepan or medium microwaveable bowl, melt butter and honey together.  Pour melted butter/honey mix over remaining ingredients and stir until coated. 

Spread topping mixture over apples and cover evenly.  Don’t leave apples exposed or they’ll dry out.  Bake for 45-55 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is browned.  Tent with foil if granola browns to early.

This dish keeps well in the fridge, just reheat and top with some greek yogurt.   You can go for a sweetened yogurt since there’s not much sugar in the recipe.