Tart Granny Smith apples and sour quince are lightly sprinkled with raw sugar and finished with a cardamon topping made of oats, sugar and pecans.

Lenny loves apple pie.  I, on the other hand, could really care less about it.  In fact, I was never a big apple dessert fan, until a couple years ago.  We were in Paris and stumbled upon Au Gamin de Paris and their apple tart with a caramelized topping.    They only make a few tarts, daily, so when you go you have to order dessert first, it is amazing!  From that point on I was a converted apple fan!

I picked up a few apples and quince at the market last week with an intention of recreating a tart that would be similar to Au Gamin de Paris but instead, due to a lack of time, I make a crisp. I have never used quince before but have had it in the form of a jam, which was served with cheese.  I had no idea what to expect.  The quince was rather dry, somewhat astringent and a little sour as well.  I was a little worried.  I mixed the tart apples and sour quince together with a little raw sugar and cardamon and then made a topping out of some oats, butter, sugar, cardamon and pecans.  The sugar and butter melted together to form a nice caramel coating that gripped the oats and pecans, the flavors screamed “FALL” when mixed with the quince and apples.  It was perfect and the only other thing that would have made it more perfect would have been a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

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Recipe:  Apple Quince Crisp

4 apples, peeled and cut into chunks

2 quince, peeled and cut into chunks

3 tablespoons sugar

1 cups oats

1 cup pecans, broken into pieces

6 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon caradmon

1/2 cup butter, unsalted, cut into chunks

Heat oven to 375.  Butter a baking dish.  Toss the apples, quince and 3 tablespoons of raw sugar together in a mixing bowl.  Pour into your baking dish.  In the same mixing bowl, add dry ingredients and lightly stir.  Cut in the butter until it is crumbly.  Pour over the top of your apples and quince.  Bake for 35 – 40 minutes.  Serve.  Eat.