Combine crisp apples and bake them in a dreamy caramel sauce. Next, take these golden glazed apples and cover them with a rustic crunchy oatmeal topping and the results are pure heaven.  This is a true American classic and perfect to bake for the abundant apple season. What I love about this irresistible dessert is how simple it is to make. If you’re new to the world of baking this is a wonderful recipe to start with.  It’s lovely topped with fat-free whipped cream. The skinny on one serving is 269 calories and 6 grams of fat. It’s compared to Cheesecake Factory’s Apple Crisp which has a profound 650 calories and 24 grams of fat.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Bake Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

Topping:

½ cup unbleached all purpose flour

½ cup rolled oats

¼ cup organic sugar (evaporated cane juice) or granulated sugar

¼ cup organic brown sugar or golden brown sugar

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

⅛ teaspoon salt

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon Smart Balance Light or any reduced fat spread or butter

Filling:

4 large apples (~6 cups) Granny Smith, or any tart apples.

½ tablespoon lemon juice

¼ cup organic sugar or granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons Smart Balance Light or any reduced-fat spread or butter

Fat- free or light whipped cream to serve on top.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Coat a 9” pie plate with cooking spray.

2.  To make the topping: In a medium bowl mix together all of the topping ingredients, except Smart Balance Light. Add Smart Balance and rub with your fingertips into the dry ingredients until small clumps form. It should be crumbly. Set aside.

3.  To make the filling: Peel, core and cut each apple into slices. Place apple slices in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice.

4.  In a large pan or skillet, stir together constantly ¼ cup sugar and Smart Balance, over medium heat until a smooth sauce forms and the caramel is deep brown (about 3 to 5 minutes). Add the apples, cinnamon and toss until evenly coated. Cook for one minute.

5.  Spoon the cooked apples into the prepared pie plate. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples.

6.  Bake until the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown about 45-50 minutes.

7.  Let cool slightly. Serve warm with whipped cream on top.

Serves 6

Food Fact

The apple crisp is one of the newer American classics. The first recipe printed was in 1924. Did you ever wonder what the difference is between an apple crisp and an apple crumble? Well there isn’t any. In American we called it a crisp and in Britain they call it a crumble.

Serving Tip

If you really want to splurge, top the crisp with a small scoop of reduced-fat vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt!

Storage Tip

This crisp will last for a few days on your counter top. Store covered with plastic wrap.

Weight Watchers (old points) 5
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 7

This entry was posted Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 1:55 pm and is filed under Recent, Recipes. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.