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Cutting butter into flour gives pie crusts, biscuits, and cobbler toppings their trademark flakiness, and it gives crisp and crumble toppings their distinctive crumbly character. To cut in butter, use a pastry blender or 2 knives to cut and toss the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, with the largest pieces of butter the size of small peas. The butter should remain in small but discrete pieces. It's important to start with cold butter and to work quickly so that the butter doesn't soften and melt.
You will need:
For the crisp topping:
1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz or 75 g) unbleached all-purpose (plain) flour
1 cup (3 oz or 90 g) old fashioned or quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz or 105 g) firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (4 oz or 125 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 mm cubes, plus extra for greasing
1/2 cup (2 oz or 60 g) walnuts, finely chopped
For the apple filling:
3/4 cup (6 oz or 185 g) granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 pcs medium tart apples such as pippin and Granny Smith, peeled, halved, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick (about 6 cups / 1 1/2 lb/750 g)
Here's how:
Place an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) Lightly grease a 12-inch (30-cm) oval or 9-by-3-inch (23-by-33-cm) rectangular baking dish with a 2-qt (2-1) capacity.
To make the topping, in a bowl, stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or two knives, quickly cut or rub the butter into the flour mixture until it is crumbly. Add the walnuts and toss to mix. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
To make the filling, in a small bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Place the apple slices in a large bowl, sprinkle with the sugar mixture, and toss to distribute evenly. Spread the apple mixture in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples.
Bake until the topping is crisp and golden brown and the apples are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 50 minutes. Serve warm.
Serving tip: Accompany with a scoop of good-quality ice cream or a dollop of Sweetened Whipped Cream.
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