Peanut Butter Apple Crumble

 

 So, I was recently cleaning out my pantry, and I discovered a forgotten half jar of peanut butter. Just sitting all the way in the back, thinking no one loved it anymore.  Of course, I instantly thought "what can I make with this?" Yes, I could absolutely do something with chocolate. That's a no brainer, but not exactly ground breaking. Then I thought, how about something apple? A crisp, maybe? Yes, that's exactly the right note I want to hit. But, to me, a crisp has an oat topping, and I was out of oats. I did, however, have a can of slightly salted peanuts. What if I swap out the oats for peanuts and call it a crumble?  THERE's the A HA moment! Then I found a recipe on a blog called Cookie Dough and Oven Mitt. (This is my tweaked version.) A little bit of peeling and coring and mixing, and the next thing I knew I was smelling the heavenly scent of apples baking. YUM. It really is one of life's simple pleasures, you know. So there we have it. Apples and peanut butter, with a peanut crumble topping. Add a little vanilla ice cream on top, and you're having a party! Definitely a keeper. Absolutely delicious!

 

 
Filling:
6 apples
1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs flour
pinch salt

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped peanuts
3/4 cup flour
4 tsp butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
pinch salt

Heat over to 350ºF.

For the filling:
Peel, core, and slice apples set aside.
In a large bowl, combine remaining filling ingredients. Tossing filling with apples. Place in a large baking dish.

For the topping:
In the same bowl as you tossed the apples, (no need to wash), combine all topping ingredients. Pour topping all over apples in an even layer. Place in oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes. You MUST serve this with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. I'm pretty sure it's a law.

Tips:
The usual “baking” apple is the Granny Smith. It’s tart so it stands up to the sweetness of the sugar, and it doesn’t turn to mush while it bakes. But I like Honeycrisp apples better, so that’s what I used. Use what you like!
If you’re using salted peanuts, omit the pinches of salt.
If you want your apples to be a little bit more saucy, sprinkle them with the sugar, and let them sit for a while until the juices form, then toss with the remaining filling ingredients.