In my experience, apples are just one fruit that doesn’t freeze particularly well by themselves.  I have a freezer full of other fruits, but the apples… well, I have huge bags of apples that are starting to soften and must be used.  I suspect a large batch of applesauce is in my near future, but I also wanted to do some fun things for the freezer.  Since the fruits themselves don’t freeze very well, that was out, but baked goods?  Well, that’s a whole other successful story.

I have been in a crumble mood lately.  I don’t know what it is, but I’m digging anything and everything made into a crisp, crumble or crunch.  Okay, maybe I do know what it is, I am a sucker for that streusel topping every single time.  Regardless, apple crisp is certainly right at the top of that list for me.  Warm gooey cinnamon laced apples paired up with a crispy crunchy buttery cookie-like topping and I am so in heaven.  No whipped cream or ice cream required even- I love the stuff all by its lonesome.  So I set out to make a few batches of apple crisp for the freezer.  I was certain it could be done, so I began by purchasing some of those aluminum foil pans- 8-inch size for my purposes.  8 inches would be the perfect size to have in the freezer for a surprise dessert for the family come February.  Or for those random times we have unexpected company at mealtime and no dessert.  Now we do.

The procedure is no different than making a batch of apple crisp, to be honest.  The only difference was that once the crisp had cooled completely, I covered each pan with heavy duty foil and then popped that into a labeled freezer bag.  One 8-inch pan fit perfectly into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag.  I put them all into the freezer, and once frozen, I was able to stack them up.  The most time consuming part of the whole procedure was slicing the apples.  I was able to bake up four pans at once in the oven, and boy, did the house smell fantastic on the day I made the crisps!  For just a few hours of work, I now have delicious desserts at the ready in my freezer.  If you’re planning on doing such a thing, my only recommendation would be to use them by about the six-month mark, as I would be concerned about freshness after that point. But really if I found a crisp lurking in my freezer that was 2 years old I would still bake it up.

Because apples have been in season and remarkably affordable, this is an excellent way to stretch the budget, while also adding a little convenience for later on.  My Two-Pan Apple Crisp can also be adapted for pretty much any fruit or fruit combination that you’d like.

Two-Pan Apple Crisp

1 cup flour, sifted (1/2 white; 1/2 whole wheat)

1/2 cup oatmeal, uncooked

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup chilled butter

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

About 3 quarts sliced apples

3 tablespoons corn starch

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Prepare two 8-inch square pans by spraying with cooking spray.  (Alternately, use one 9 x 13 pan.)

In a mixing bowl combine the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Mix well.  Drop in the cold butter and cut in using a pastry blender until nice and crumbly.  Stir in the nuts, if using.  Set mixture aside

In a large mixing bowl, combine the apple slices, cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and lemon juice.  Toss to combine.  Divide apple mixture between the two prepared pans.  It’s okay if the apples mound up a bit over the edges of the pan.

Carefully, divide the crumb mixture between the two pans.  Just sprinkle it all over the apples evenly.

Place the two pans onto a more sturdy baking sheet and pop in the oven for 1 hour.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

To freeze, allow to cool completely.  Then cover with heavy duty foil, place in a large freezer bag, label and freeze.  To serve, pop into a 375ºF from frozen, foil removed, for about 35 minutes, or until hot throughout.