This Childhood Recipe from 45 Years Ago Remains My Ultimate Comfort Dessert

This extremely easy recipe has been my go-to since I was young.

I entered this world under favorable circumstances. On the day of my Caesarian birth, Eddie McCormick presented a special treat to my mother at the hospital. As the person in charge of food services at Greenwich Country Day School in Connecticut, he was particularly renowned for his signature apple crisp. This dessert greeted me as I joined the community of the school where my dad taught upper-school art and which I would later call home for eight pivotal years.

When I started my journey at GCDS in first grade, I immediately fell for the charm of the family-style meals. the dining hall (We never referred to it as a cafeteria.) The teachers or visiting parents would sit at the head of the table, overseeing their designated cluster of students, with each group rotating every fortnight. During these periods, one kid would be appointed as the waiter, tasked with transporting meals between the kitchen and the dining area, while another student took on the role of the sub-waiter—a job nobody relished—responsible for cleaning off all the used dishes.

McCormick raised our meals beyond standard cafeteria fare. Among the favorites were turkey à la king, creamy grilled cheese paired with tomato soup, and an intriguing dish known as Jacks & Jills—French bread crowned with Sloppy Joe filling and melted cheese, finished under the broiler. I eagerly anticipated "Chicken Roundup," during which leftovers like barbecued chicken, cutlets, and more were mixed together and served alongside buttered egg noodles.

However, the most coveted item in the chef's repertoire was undoubtedly their apple crisp. Occasionally, it was served with vanilla ice cream , which the teacher portioned out from a bowl at the table for each student’s share of apples and oats. As my time at the school went on, it grew more typical to serve the freshly cooked dessert alongside warmed hard sauce. Even now, when making it, I opt for including the latter.

That’s because Eddie McCormick’s apple crisp remains my go-to dessert for homemade treats. Even though people see me as a skilled chef capable of preparing things like 72-hour fermented pizza dough and a roasted chicken dish fit for mythical standards, making cakes and cookies makes me nervous. Since grade school, I've relied on this straightforward recipe, which I updated to add cinnamon, whenever I needed something easy and comforting.

That's because in 1992, the GCDS mothers and team members gathered their beloved recipes into a spiral-bound cookbook titled Country Days and Nights To support the performing and visual arts departments. Unsurprisingly, for such a high-end neighborhood, the recipes spanning 180 pages range from exotic options like a caviar-egg-avocado mold and lobster mousse, down to heartier choices akin to my mother’s rice-studded dish. “porcupine” meatballs .

Although my husband freely admits he’s the baker at home—the rose-and-pistachio chiffon cake he made was unforgettable—he typically handles only the savories. However, when I end up making dishes beyond those for main courses, particularly during fall, one of the meals I prepare goes by the name mentioned in Country Days and Nights As "a GCDS lunchroom favorite." Page 111 is now irreversibly coated with cinnamon, over four decades since the sweet combination of oats and apples first introduced me to comforting cuisine.

I came from the recipe. However, even those who aren't chefs will discover how this classic becomes a staple in their routine cooking.

How to Prepare Greenwich Country Day School’s Apple Crisp

Ingredients

For the crisp:

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 stick butter
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• ⅓ cup white sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons of powdered cinnamon
• ½ cup uncooked oats
• 2 pounds of sour apples suitable for baking (approximately six average-sized apples)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the sauce:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla or 0.5 teaspoons of almond extract
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the flour, butter, sugar, and cinnamon until the mixture resembles grains of rice in size. Stir in the raw oats thoroughly.
2. Remove the skin, cut into quarters, and then slice the apples into a greased 9-inch baking pan. Smooth them out and press down firmly.
3. Add some lemon juice as a garnish. Finish with the oat mixture on top.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until apples are tender.
5. Mix softened butter with powdered sugar until smooth. Incorporate the extract and salt, then serve alongside apple crisp.

Read the initial article on All Recipes .