amazing apple crumble

I keep having little daydreams about going to the east coast or even the midwest to experience the change in weather.  The way that one day, after a hot summer, a cool breeze comes through and immediately the leaves start to fall.  How the geese start flocking south and it's possible to wear a warm sweater in the middle of October.  All those things happen in San Diego I suppose, it's just a far more subtle change.  You would have to be pretty keen on fall just to notice it before Thanksgiving.  Fall here is marked by Ugg boots with mini skirts, surfers switching to full wetsuits, and pumpkin spice lattes (preferably over ice).  

Yesterday we went apple picking.  I've never done it before, but for many San Diegans the hour long drive to the country is a fall tradition. Apple picking in historic Julian is as close to an east coast autumn as we will ever get and it was wonderful.  At Raven Hill Orchard, we filled up a bag with small organic apples, just as sweet and crispy as their larger grocery store counterparts.  We packed a picnic, took a drive, picked some apples, and found ourselves with a new fall tradition of our own.

I got this recipe from a friend of a friend of a friend a couple years ago and I personally think it is the best apple crumble recipe of all time!  It's so simple to make and is crazy good.  I usually bake it several times over the course of fall and winter and it never fails to delight the taste buds with the simple goodness of vanilla and cinnamon.

Amazing Apple Crumble
Filling
-6 large apples of any kind (I usually go sweet with gala), peeled and chopped
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 tablespoon vanilla
-1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Topping
-1 1/2 cups flour
-1 1/2 cups brown sugar
-1 1/2 cups oats
-1 cup butter, melted
-1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss the chopped apples, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon in a bowl, then dump in to a greased 9x13 pan (I usually halve the recipe and use a random cake pan, I've even used mini jam jars).  Wipe out the bowl, then mix up the flour, brown sugar, oats, melted butter, and salt.  Layer the crumble mixture on top of the apples.  Bake for about an hour until top is golden and apples are soft. Enjoy!

rosemary raisin cookies

One of my favorite dinners is a simple luxury; cheese, wine and crackers.  We usually sit at the coffee table, watch a good movie, and stuff ourselves with creamy cheese and a bottle of good ol' Charles Shaw.  Last time we did this, I picked up a box of rosemary raisin crisps from Trader Joe's, it was a new item and I soon discovered the incredible flavor of this savory sweet combination.  I became so obsessed with the taste (eating them everyday for weeks) that I decided to make a cookie that could embody the earthiness of the rosemary and raisins, while being soft and chewy.  

For the record I am not a baker, or a cook for that matter.  But I can claim that I invented this recipe myself, tested it several times, and now it's my go to for an impressive sensory delight.  It goes great as a dessert or an afternoon snack with a cup a coffee.

Rosemary Raisin Cookies

-1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

-1 1/4 cups flour

-1 cup raisins

-1/2 cup chopped walnuts

-1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1/3 cup olive oil (adds a wonderful peppery taste) 

-1 egg

-1 egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray your cookie sheet (or sheets).  Mix up the dry ingredients, add in the wet ingredients.  Scoop tablespoon sized balls a couple inches apart onto the oiled cookie sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden.  Let cool on a cookie rack. Enjoy!

Makes about 16 cookies.