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This delicious dessert is my personal mash-up of two recipes...one from Cooks Illustrated and another from Bon Appetit magazine. It takes apple crisp to a whole new level of decadence, without a whole lot of extra work!
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To make the topping, combine all of the 'topping' ingredients except the butter in a mixing bowl or in a food processor. Whisk or pulse to combine. Using a pastry cutter, or the food processor, incorporate the butter until the mixture is crumbly and moist clumps form. If you are a traditionalist, you can add 1/2 cup of oats and/or 1/2 cup of toasted pecans or walnuts at this point Personally, I like mine without. Set topping aside, and preheat the oven to 375F.
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Prepare the apples: Squeeze the juice from 1/2 of the lemon into a large bowl, and put the apples in there as you peel, core and slice them, stirring so they are coated lightly with the lemon juice as you add more apples. This will keep them from turning brown. Set the apples aside.
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In a large (9 1/2 to 10 inch) cast iron skillet (or regular skillet, if you don't have a cast iron one), stir the sugar and the butter over medium heat until a smooth sauce forms. Add the juice from the other half of the lemon and the salt to the skillet. Keep stirring gently until the sauce has gone from creamy beige to a light golden brown. Add the apples and the juice from the bowl they were sitting in, and stir to coat the apples well. Cook the apples for about 3-4 minutes, stirring from time to time. Remove from the heat.
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If you are using a cast iron skillet, crumble the topping directly onto the apples in the skillet. Otherwise, turn the apples into a 13 x 9 or large oval baking dish, and then crumble the topping over them.
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Bake for 20 minutes, or until you can see golden brown caramel bubbling up through the topping. If you are not using a skillet, add about 5 more minutes to the baking time.
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Allow the crisp to cool for about 10 minutes, then serve warm with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.
