Sweet N’ Tart Apple Crisp

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and with 1 tablespoon of butter, grease an 11×13 baking dish.

*Note: The filling for this crisp can be made ahead and chilled until ready to bake; the filling is fairly quick to make, but allow for about 40 minutes to 1 hour for the filling to completely cool before topping it with the crumble and baking if making the day of.

1)In a large pot over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, and add the sliced apples; stir and add 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar, the pumpkin pie spice and the orange zest, and stir to combine; add the apple juice, and allow to gently simmer uncovered on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, or until apples are tender but NOT falling apart.
2)While apples cook, whisk together the corn starch and the water to form a “slurry”; once the apples are tender, add the “slurry” into the apple mixture in the pot, stir to combine, and cook for another minute to thicken to an apple pie-filling type consistency; remove from heat, pour into a large bowl and allow to completely cool, about 40 minutes.
3)In a food processor, combine the oats, the flour, the nuts (walnuts and almonds), 1/2 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and pulse to form a crumble consistency; turn the topping out into a bowl and using your fingers, combine the mixture a bit more to help the butter incorporate and form pea-size crumbles; refrigerate until ready to top and bake the crisp.
4)Once apple filling is cool, pour it into the greased baking dish and top with the crumble; bake for 25 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown. Serve warm with or without ice cream. Enjoy!