my favorite apple crisp

There are some foods I just love so much that I want to have the best recipe of them that I can find. You know, so my kids can be like, "My mom makes the best..."Apple crisp is one of those for me. I've tried my share of apple crisp recipes but I always come back to this one. My cute friend and old roommate, Kayla shared her mom's recipe with me long ago. It's a good one, trust me.  Last night Brett and I were sneaking around the kids sharing a little bowl of this before dinner. So naughty, I know. :) I posted a photo of this morning on Instagram and got a few requests so here it is!

Kaloa's Apple Crisp

8 large apples, sliced and placed in a buttered 9 by 13 pan

Mix the following spices and sugar and sprinkle over apples. 

1 cup sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/8 t. salt

Dot your apples with a few tabs of butter. 

For the topping: 

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup butter

(Also, walnuts are divine mixed in to the topping but to each his own.)

Combine those four ingredients and sprinkle on top of the apples. 

Bake at 400 degree for one hour. 

party pancakes

Yes, yes we did have party pancakes. The kids were thrilled. It's amazing what some sprinkles will do to everyone's mood.

Here is our favorite pancake recipe. They are tried and true, the perfect everyday pancakes. We make them with a blend of gluten-free flours and they still turn out just right. You wouldn't even be able to tell that they are gluten-free.

from the Joy of Cooking-

Whisk together in a large bowl:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1-3  Tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2  teaspoon salt

Whisk together in another bowl:

1 1/2 milk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently whisk together. There should be small lumps still. Lumps are good! They make pancakes light and fluffy. If you want them really light, you can seperate the eggs and add the yolks to the wet ingredients and then beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks and fold the egg whites in last. This makes them incredibly tasty and gives them a little crisp around the edges.

For the sprinkles I just folded them right before I poured them onto the griddle and they mostly melt so you don't have little crunchies in your pancakes. It was fun for the kids and make them seem a little bit special for our birthday girl. 

our weekend in photos

I loved every bit of Thanksgiving and I'm even more excited to be able to get ready for Christmas. I was set on getting most of my Christmas preparations done before December but I got the flu. And then so did everyone else. Ugh. But I got a good start.

Here are details of our little weekend:

decking the halls with little helpers 

 watching Christmas movies and snuggling with my baby girl

one lady bug found

eating Brett's amazing pancakes with apple-cider syrup (try it, I'll never go back to maple) 

bath time

play time

sister time

some Christmas shopping without kids ;)  

getting Indian food with old friends

getting my Christmas cards done (early this year, yay!)

Apple Cider Syrup

2 cups apple cider or apple juice
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix together sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg in saucepan. Pour in juice (apple and lemon). Cook and stir constantly until thickened and boils. Boil and stir one minute. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Serve warm over pancakes.

weekend photos

The weekend was so good to us.  We had a much needed date night, dinner at Setebello's. Then in pictures; my happy children sitting on the steps with popsicles in hand, a sure sign of summer. Sweet little braids and getting ready for our walk to church.

 

Most importantly the weekend proved to be a success because I found my chocolate chip recipe. You know how every good mom makes the best chocolate chip cookies? Brett's mom makes the best chocolate chip cookies but I just can't make them how she does.  I have other cookie recipes I like but I've never found a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I was happy with. Well, I finally found it, the one. Of course it's a Paula Deen recipe. I love that lady. Here it is, just for you.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from Paula Deen's Three Chocolate Chip Recipe

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3   large eggs

1 3/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1   (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Here's the trick with cookies. It's all about how you mix them. First you have to beat the butter and shortening until they are creamy and then add the sugars. Then you have to beat them until they are good and fluffy. Then there comes the eggs and vanilla, then the rest.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes. Her recipe says to drop them by the 1/4 cup and cook them for 12 minutes but I like my cookies small, Otis Spunkmire style.