APPLE COBBLER (inspired by Heather)

So, I'm not quite sure who "Heather" is, but I'm a big fan of her Apple Cobbler Recipe.  I discovered it after scouring the internet for a cobbler recipe that would be comparable to the fabulous peach concoction my friends made one night following yoga.  I think she had me with the words "fool-proof" in her description, so I dug through my cabinets for the ingredients.  But weren't you trying to make a peach cobbler?, you might ask.  No, no... I'd just gone apple picking and had a large bag sitting on my kitchen counter just waiting for inspiration... which came in the form of peach cobbler that early October night.

::fantasizes about eating peach cobbler::

Oh, sorry.  I get a little distracted by my love for food sometimes.  What was I saying?  Oh yes, Apple Cobbler.  So, I basically take Heather's recipe and suit it to my own taste (as I always recommend once you've tried the original recipe at least once).  She asks for 6 cups of peeled/sliced green apples, but you can mix it up and throw a few Red Delicious in with your Granny Smiths.  Basically you take a giant mixing bowl and dump 3/4 cup of white sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar (or slightly more), 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup hot water.  Instead of doing 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (because I react to nutmeg) I then add in 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of clove.

Next is the fun part...

After dumping all these ingredients into your bowl, mix it up with your hands, adding the apples in and covering them using a toss-like motion.  Lightly butter a square baking dish and then pour the entire mixture in, placing the 1 1/2 tablespoon of butter you've scooped out (or cut) in the center of your filling.

To make the topping...

Grab another bowl and mix 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt (BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVER SALT! LESS IS MORE!), 2 tablespoons of softened butter (if you're using country crock it's already soft, yay!), and 1 egg (or egg substitute).  Use a spoon to mix until smooth and then drop it on top of the filling.  Heather suggests that you do it evenly, but I just try to cover the top using a drop-cookie technique of little spoonfuls of topping placed side by side and gently smushed together with your fingers.  it gives it texture.

What Heather doesn't tell you to do is create a mixture of brown sugar, water, and cinnamon that is NOT TOO watery.  Then, you take a spoon and "Pollock" your crust. (Yes, you pretend your name is Jackson and dribble the mixture across your crust).  The mixture will bake in and look pretty.  If you want to create cinnamon icing, you can always add a bit of confectioner's sugar to your mixture as well... but that's far too sweet for my taste.

The batter will spread as you cook the cobbler for 30 minutes at 350.