Bakers edge, bakers edge, bake me a dish!

The days of fall are officially upon us. Instead of waking up and tossing on sandals, it is boots and closed toe shoes for us here in NYC. And with this, my favorite season, come all sorts of good things. Football games take over lazy Saturday afternoons. Leaves begin their magical transformation, turning central park into a jewel toned shop window for all her visitors. The lights for the holidays are not yet out, but there is something magical lurking in the air....

The smell of hot cider simmering with cinnamon and nutmeg wafts through the farmers markets. Vendors put away their vibrant greens and introduce to us their deep yellows, oranges, and reds.

And so I came to invent a new fall treat, the apple identity crisis. Appropriately named due to my inability to decide whether it would be part tart or part crumble. Et voila! It is both:

Apple Identity Crisis

A chewy yet crisp tart bottom, then a layer of fresh sliced opalescent apples tossed in brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, then topped with a crumble of oats, brown sugar, flour and a bit of cold butter.

Mmmmm.....
Who's having seconds?

Apple Identity Crisis

Ahh...the comforting days of fall and the catalyst to the super yummy, really easy, and just plain ole' fun to say, Apple Identity Crisis.

For the tart/crust (pre-identity crisis):

1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced
2 large egg yolks

For the apple identity:

2 medium sized apples sliced (i like the opalescent variety, they are sweet, crisp, with ever the slightest bit of tart)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
.5 tbsp nutmeg
.5 tbsp ginger
1 tsp corn syrup

For the crumble crisis:

1 cup flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp nutmeg
2 tbsp. oats
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 stick cold butter diced

Preheat oven to 325/350.

Start with tart crust ingredients. Sift all dry ingredients, add yolks then butter until it sticks together. Don't be afraid to get dirty, your hands are your most prized tool for this. Form it into a crumbly ball, wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (you can cheat like I did and keep it in the freezer for 20 minutes too :)!!)

Slice apple and toss to coat with ingredients in the 'identity' section.

Make the crumbly topping in a separate bowl sifting dry ingredients first and then adding in the vanilla and cold butter. Your hands work best for this, too!

If you are fancy, roll out the tart crust and place it on the bottom of your greased/sprayed pan of choice. Otherwise, use your hands to rustically lay it along the bottom of said pan.

Place apples on top of crust, sprinkle with crumble (the crisis part).

Place in oven and await heaven!