Every year the fall season arrives with a healthy dose of nostalgia and delicious things to eat.

I will admit I go completely pumpkin and apple crazy this time of year. I just can’t get enough! Pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice lattes, applesauce, apple cider. You name it if it includes either of these two ingredients I am all in. Add some cinnamon and you have me sold in an instant. Yes, I am a sucker for anything fall-ish, especially if it involves food. Ok, if you know me at all, you may argue that I am a sucker for anything that involves food any time of year, and you are correct. But throw together some pumpkin, cinnamon, and sugar and I am in love.

Perhaps one of the reasons fall holds such a dear place in my heart is due to the family traditions we have established over the years. Since we have moved to Shanghai many of these traditions are not possible to continue and I miss them dearly. But I suppose it would be challenging to find an apple orchard or pumpkin patch tucked amongst the buildings of this massive metropolis.

Family trips to an apple orchard were always my favorite. We would pile in the car and drive waaay out to find the perfect orchard. One such orchard continues to hold a dear place in my heart. Clearview Farm in Sterling, Massachusettes. You can’t get any more picture perfect than this little farm. Set down a country road on the outskirts of a lovely little New England town this farm sells apples, pumpkins, and produce. The owner, Diane Melone, is a descendant of Mary from the popular children’s rhyme “Mary had a Little Lamb”. Yes, Mary was a real person, and her lamb did actually follow her to school! Honestly, I can’t make this stuff up. Every year we would drive through a rainbow cacophony of trees, over hill and dale until we arrived at Clearview. Once on the farm, we would grab a wagon and make memories picking apples, enjoying the weather, and loving the precious simple time spent together.

When we picked all the apples we could possibly carry, we would pile back in the car and take them home. Once there, I would look at them wondering why in the world we had picked so many, and even more importantly, what the heck was I going to do with all of them?

One year my daughter’s preschool class went on a field trip to, you guessed it, an apple orchard. When they returned they made apple crisp. Her sweet teachers sent home the recipe and it instantly became a yearly favorite in our house. Yes, 20 years later I am still making the same recipe with a few tweaks here and there. It is delicious, super easy, and one that I hope will make its way into your fall family traditions as well as help you use up some of those apples you picked on your family trip to your favorite orchard.

Fall Favorite Apple Crisp

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 servings (if you’re lucky)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Combine

• 3 cups apples, sliced thin
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. water
  Pour into an un-greased pan

3. Prepare Topping

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
  Combine. Sprinkle on top of apple mixture.

4. Bake

30-45 minutes or until browned and bubbly

Enjoy!
We like to eat our apple crisp warm with a healthy scoop of vanilla ice cream. Mmmm!

For more fall tips, please click this link: Fall in Love With Fall. An American’s how-to guide for making the season a success.

I would love to hear if you make this recipe, and let me know some of your fall favorites as well. After all, one can never have too many ways to cook apples and pumpkins!