Grandma Jeanne's Best Apple Crisp (a wheat-free & dairy-free adaptation)

Today is my birthday, so under the guise of research, I set about to try my Mom's apple crisp with modifications for my special culinary needs.  While I do believe everything should always be done in moderation, including moderation itself, I managed to enjoy quite a bit of moderate wheat and corn and wine yesterday while I watched our beloved Mariners lose their 100th game, so I felt it was a only prudent to make an effort today despite obvious reasons to treat oneself.  Plus, the bit about the research and all. 

Ingredients                                            9"x9" pan                           9"x13" pan

Apples pealed and sliced ~1/4" thick     ~5-6 big apples                  ~7-8apples
(Granny Smith or Pink Lady are best)
Vanilla                                                     1-2tsp                                2-4tsp
Lemon juice + zest                                  1/3 lemon                         1/2 lemon

Butter (Earth Balance natural buttery  1 stick (8Tbls)                  2 sticks (16Tbls)
 spread in this case- don't laugh)                
Brown sugar, loosely packed                   1c                                      2c
Flour (Spelt or gluten-free if prefered)    1c                                      2c
Cinnamon                                                2tsp                                   4tsp

Oats                                                       1 fistfull                               2 fistfulls
Pecans, finely chopped                          1/2 cup                              1cup

Directions:  (preheat oven to 375.)
1. Combine apples, vanilla and lemon and zest together in baking pan.  This should be a pretty dang packed full pan if you ask me, but I like a high apple-to-stuff ratio.  Dont hesitate to add more apples if the pan needs it, this is approximate.
2.  In mixing bowl, combine butter(-ey spread), sugar, flour & cinammon and mix to fine crumble.
3.  Add in the oats and pecans and combine.  This will look pretty crumbly, not clumpy at all.  If you want it more chunky (not a preferred word in this house), maybe add a little applesauce or milk to bind.  Or even more butter!
4.  Cover the apples with the heavenly crisp topping and put that little devil in the oven for 40-50min.  This may depend on how thickly you cut your apples.  Pull it out when there a little bubbles coming up through the apples but before they turn to applesauce.  It will still taste amazing if you over cook it, but texture is nice to preserve.
5.  Let cool for 30 min before digging in if you can stand it.  Makes one serving, unless you like to share.

Obvioiusly you should top this with killer vanilla ice cream or whipped cream or delicious non-dairy option, depending on the camp you fall into. 



I got a bit lazy about peeling the apples for this batch and didn't think the dish suffered.



After cooking, this reduced down quite a bit.  I should have put even more apples in this batch.

Post-crisp consumption note here:  I liked the spelt flour, but did miss the real butter a little.  I would never turn my nose up at a good crisp, but if I didn't want to keep dairy off the menu, I would never sub out good old fashion butter here.