Apple Crisp

I'm a savory cook, not a baker. My baking experience runs to southern-style cornbread (no sugar, thank you very much), good biscuits and an annual birthday cake for my husband. One dessert I do cook a lot of in the fall is an apple crisp. My husband's late mother had a nice but basic recipe that I've been working on now for a couple of years. Hers called for just cinnamon; I added nutmeg and allspice. Hers called for a lot of white sugar; I cut it down. I also added more apples, but I never really made it work until I started using light brown sugar. What a difference! I don't normally include recipes in my posts, but I will here.

Six medium apples, cored and cut into about 1/3" slices
1/2 c water
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c light brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t allspice
1/2 t nutmeg
7 T unsalted butter, cold

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9x13-ish casserole. Put the apple slices into the casserole and spread them evenly. Pour in water.

In a food processor, combine all dry ingredients. Cut the butter into pieces, add and pulse until the mixture looks like wet sand. It will take at least 30 seconds, probably closer to a minute. Spread the topping onto the apples and cook for 45-50 minutes.

My husband likes to eat it warm with ice cream; I like it reheated in the toaster oven for breakfast. Whatever. Just eat it!

A few notes: I don't worry about apple type. This year, I've been using whatever apples come in our farm share so I have no idea what I've been cooking with and it never seems to matter. Also, I'm going to keep experimenting with light brown sugar. Next time, I'll use only light brown sugar and see what happens.