It's Fall...kind of

Here in Arizona we have a different kind of Fall, it consists mainly of memories and fond reminisces of brightly colored leaves, crisp Autumn evenings, chilly mornings with a warm mug of apple cider in hand, and reminding the kids to grab a jacket when they leave for school. I miss Autumn. I love sweaters and corduroy pants, crisp mornings, and chilly evenings with beautiful days sandwiched in between, the sight of leaves turning their bright colors, and even the sight of them scattered over the lawn. Here the only sign of Fall is the temperature might...just might...stay below 100 for the rest of the week. Maybe we'll dip below 75 for our night time low. Sigh...I miss Autumn. putting up plastic pumpkins just isn't the same as being able to set a trio of brightly colored, just picked from the patch, pumpkins on your porch.

Despite all of this, I have been feeling Autumnal, feeling Fallish...whatever that means, and so I decided I would make Apple Crisp. That is an Autumn dish for me, for whatever reasons, it feels most like something to bake and eat in the Fall. Even my favorite candle to burn this year is called Apple Crisp! And, I found a divine recipe...so delectable! So, I thought I'd share, in case you are feeling Fall like I am...sadly I didn't get a photo of our treat, it was gone before I even had the thought of sharing this recipe, here is one from the source (Taste of Home's website) **We didn't have it with Vanilla Ice Cream either, though that looks yummy!**

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups chopped peeled apples
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla ice cream, optional

Directions: In a bowl, combine first four ingredients. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press half into a greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish or a 9-in. square baking pan. Cover with apples. In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, water and vanilla; cook and stir until thick and clear. Pour over apples. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Bake at 350° for about 1 hour or until the apples are tender. Serve warm, with ice cream if desired. Yield: 8 servings.

**My notes: I doubled the ingredients for the crumbly mixture, knowing my family delights in that part of the recipe, and I baked it in a 9x13 pan.