I don’t know where my mom got this one. It doesn’t look pretty on the plate, but it tastes delicious.

Ingredients:

Topping:

1 stick salted butter– straight out of the refrigerator
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup quick oats (also called rolled oats)
2/3 cup flour
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

Filling:

8 medium or large apples (these will be peeled and sliced after you make the topping)
2 tsp lemon juice (to prevent browning)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour

Directions:

Butter a 9×13 pan.

Preheat oven to 375̊ F.

Place the stick of butter, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 2/3 cup quick oats, 2/3 cup flour, and 1 ½ tsp cinnamon in a small mixing bowl. Cut together with a pastry blender or with forks or knives, until the largest lumps of butter are no bigger than a large pea. (Do not mix it beyond this stage, or you’ll have a weird dough clump instead of a powdery topping.) Set the bowl in the refrigerator.

Peel the apples. Cut into slices that aren’t too thin or too thick– about 1/3 inch thick at the thickest part of the slice. (If you cut them too thinly, they’ll be like applesauce at the end of the cooking time. If you cut them too thickly, they won’t cook all the way through, and you’ll have this weird mix of apple textures when you’re eating the crisp.) As you cut the slices, toss them into a medium mixing bowl with the 2 tsp of lemon juice, and stir gently. (Coating the slices with lemon juice will help keep them from browning as you’re working.)

When all the apples are peeled and sliced, gently stir in the 2/3 cup sugar and the 1/4 cup flour until all slices are coated. Pour the chunky mixture into the buttered pan, and press down gently with a spoon to even it out and make sure no apple slices are sticking up.

Pour the topping evenly over the apple mixture. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is crusty and brown and the apple mixture is bubbling.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.