APPLE COBBLER

Things have been a little quiet around our house lately. Between the frigid temps and our end of the year budget, we’ve been a staying in. A lot. We are up against the end of the year tight finances time, yet again. Every November, despite our best attempts to stick to our rigid budget, any overspending from the rest of the year seems to catch up to us in November. We sat down with big glasses of (really cheap) wine and go over our budget from “now until we get our tax return comes in”. Our budget comes down to the following goal: Don’t spend any money.

With this goal in mind, I went through our chest freezer and pantry on Monday and pulled out every single thing that could be used, and tossed a few random things marked “2012” into the trash. I’m confident that we can make it through the end of the month only buying the necessary ingredients for my Thanksgiving stuffing that we are taking to my Dad and Stepmom’s house for dinner. This kind of resourcefulness can be bolstering, but also, if I’m being completely honest, kind of depressing. This too shall pass, as my Grandma would say. In the meantime we are staying bundled up, wearing extra thick socks, playing in the snow, and eating meals prepared from ingredients on hand.

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One thing I almost always have ingredients for is cobbler. Since it’s basically a matter of having oats, butter, brown sugar, some spices, and some fruit or berries, it’s my go-to dessert all year round. This time of year my favorite type of cobbler to make is Apple Cobbler. There’s nothing that compares to stormy weather outside and the smell of baking apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg inside.

This recipe makes two smaller cobblers, or one 9×13” cobbler. You can cook them both at once, or freeze one. And, this recipe has about 1 1/2 times the typical amount of crumbly topping because, let’s face it, that’s the best part about cobbler! This makes a wonderful dessert, but an even better breakfast the next day with a strong cup of black coffee.

Also, I should note that I tend to use tart apple varieties for my baking, if you buy apples that are sweeter you should adjust the sugar a bit so you don’t end up with an overly sweet dessert!

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APPLE COBBLER

Ingredients.
3 lbs diced apples, peels and cores discarded
zest from one lemon
juice from one lemon
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Topping.
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1
1/12 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions.
Peel and core your apples, and dice them into small pieces. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup (or less if the apples are sweet) of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Transfer the mixture to your baking dishes.

Preheat your oven to 350˚F. 

In another large bowl, combine the 1 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and salt. After it’s tossed together and combined, add in the butter and, using your hands, knead the mixture together until the butter is mixed in and broken up into small, pea-sized pieces.

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The apples should be cooked through and completely tender and the topping should be beautifully golden. Allow to cool for about half an hour before serving.

PRINTABLE RECIPE.
APPLE COBBLER