Apple Crisp

So I don't know if anyone has caught on yet, but I am terrible about blogging right after I've made it. I made this apple crisp last Saturday. I'll try to get better about posting more often, but let's be honest- not too many people read this. It's just something for me to do.
Anyways. Apple crisp. Fall is here in Minnesota and that means I've only been thinking about all the fall flavors- pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and of course- apples. My mom and I make apple crisp every year with just a recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. But now that I'm older, I tweak it just a tiny bit, by doubling the topping, and adding a little more spice. So I hope you enjoy!

What you'll need:

• 5 cups sliced and peeled apples (My mom yelled at me for not peeling the apples. It really didn't make a difference, I swear. More protein?)
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 cup regular rolled oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 stick butter

It looks yummy enough, right?

To make:

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees

-Place fruit in square baking dish and stir in sugar

-To make topping: In a bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in butter until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping over the fruit.

-Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the topping is golden and fruit is tender. Top with caramel and vanilla ice cream if desired. (who wouldn't desire that? I mean... Really?)



Cookies and Cream Brownies (A delayed post...)

So anyone who knows me knows that when I get bored there is always one solution: baking. A few Sundays ago, while I should've been doing my IB History homework (shh... you didn't hear that) I began to get a craving for a brownie... And an oreo at the same time. What resulted were these: (please excuse the poor photography)

A brownie with oreos in them, and a cookies and cream frosting. Yum. Need I say more? I didn't think so. Normally I don't eat much of what I bake, because I'm a weirdo... But these were an exception. I may have taken one or two off of the plate that were meant for my boyfriend and his family, but what he doesn't know won't hurt me.

Now since my sister, Morgan isn't exactly crazy about frosting on her brownies, I only frosted half of the batch, leaving some extra frosting in the bowl for me to eat. Trust me, I did eat it. I feel no shame.

Anyways, on to the recipe?

For the brownies-              

• 3-4 squares baking chocolate
• 2 sticks butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (or if you're me, accidently dumping a ton of vanilla in the bowl... Oops...)
• 10 oreo cookies, crumbled

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

- Melt butter and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. In a medium sized mixing bowl, cream butter/chocolate mixture. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, beating one in at a time. Add flour, stir until just combined. Fold in crumbled cookies.

-Pour batter into 9x13 greased baking pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes. Make sure to cool before frosting. :)

For the frosting-



• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 1/2 to 2 lbs. of powdered sugar
•  1 teaspoon vanilla
•  1-2 teaspoons whipping cream (or if just milk if you'd rather use that...)
• 10 oreo cookies, crushed.

-Mix together butter and powdered sugar, adding sugar gradually. Add in vanilla. Mix in milk a little at a time. Fold in cookies. Top brownies.