Brown Sugar Zapple Crisp

This fun recipe turns summer zucchini into a delicious dessert! The brown sugar crisp tastes so good and it's just like eating an apple crisp. Top with vanilla ice cream for a perfect summer treat!

       This lovely apple crisp doesn't have a single apple in it.  Instead it uses some of the glut of zucchini that seems to happen every summer. I know it is hard to believe, but those zucchini taste just like apples when you follow this recipe.  In fact, this might just be the best apple crisp you've ever had and there isn't a single apple in it. Just trust me and make it. Or make it to prove me wrong and see what happens. Either way, make this zapple crisp to try it for yourself!

Zucchini growers know there are phases to zucchini season. Every year it follows the same cyclic pattern.

1. Gee, I can't wait for these zucchini to start producing.
2. Mmmmm, I sure do love zucchini bread and zoodles.
3. Won't my friends love these extra zucchini I have?
4. My freezer is overflowing with shredded zucchini. I can make a loaf of zucchini bread every other day all winter long!
5. My friends and family say I'm no longer welcome until zucchini season is over. I just picked zucchini yesterday and there are already new ones the size of my thigh out there!
6. Man, zucchini season is over. I sure wish I could have made another batch of alfredo zoodles while we had the chance!
7. I can't wait to plant zucchini! 

Does that sound familiar? I'm sure it does! While tasty and fun, there is always a point during the season where you've had some sort of zucchini dish every day for 10 straight days and you still have a five gallon bucket of zucchini staring at you. 

      So it is great to have a wide variety of recipes to use them in. We always sautee them with garlic, salt and pepper and finish them with some Parmesan.

    Little Dude loves using the zoodler so we usually have them with alfredo sauce and shrimp a few times. I'll be sharing a fun Italian sausage and veggie sheet pan supper recipe with you this week as well. 

      The nice thing about zucchini is with its mild flavor, it lends itself to sweet recipes as well.  We really enjoy the zucchini loaves from Seattle recipe I found while baking from Maida Heatter's Cakes book with the Cake Slice Bakers.

      My brother makes a great zucchini bread too and I'll share his recipe on Friday. But one of my favorite ways to make zucchini sweet is in Jan's Almost Apple Pie.

      I love how surprising it is to eat zucchini that way! It tastes just like apple pie! 

      In the comments of that recipe somebody suggested that they love zapple crisp. I instantly fell in love with the idea and knew I had to run with it. So this is my own take on that idea.

     I started out using the almost apple pie recipe's filling as a base. We like it so much it seemed silly to try to reinvent the wheel.

    Then I made a topping that was full of oats and brown sugar.  I pressed the topping into the apples a bit. That way it married itself into something extra delicious. 

    Let me tell you, this is getting made again! I knew we were going to like it, but those caramelly undertones of the brown sugar and the oatmeal crisp really made it something special. Of course a scoop of MiMi's homemade ice cream didn't hurt a thing. 

     Now we are sadly to the point of waiting for next year's harvest. Those last few zucchini sat around for a few days as I struggled for inspiration and now I am longing for more! What are your favorite zucchini recipes?

Yield: About 8 servingsAuthor: Cooking With Carlee

Brown Sugar Zapple Crisp

This fun recipe turns summer zucchini into a delicious dessert! The brown sugar crisp tastes so good and it's just like eating an apple crisp. Top with vanilla ice cream for a perfect summer treat!

prep time: 10 MINScook time: 1 hourtotal time: 1 hours and 10 mins

INGREDIENTS:

Filling

• 6 cups zucchini
• 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• dash of salt
• 2 T flour
• 1 T lemon juice
• 2 dashes nutmeg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup butter

INSTRUCTIONS

To prepare the zucchini:

1. For medium zucchini, peel, slice in half lengthwise, remove seeds and then thinly slice. the slices should resemble apple slices. For small zucchini with tender seeds, I usually just peel and slice.
2. In a large skillet or saucepan, cook zucchini in a small amount of water for 10 minutes. Begin timing when the water begins to bubble. Remove from heat and drain completely.
3. Mix cream of tartar, salt, flour, lemon juice, nutmeg, sugar and cinnamon with zucchini.
4. Pour into a 9" pan or small casserole. I used a deep dish pie plate.

To prepare topping:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Mix together brown sugar, flour and rolled oats.
3. Either cut in the butter using a couple of knives or use your fingers to work it into the flour, sugar and oats. The mixture should be crumbly when finished.
4. Spread over the zucchini, pressing in lightly.
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden.

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copyright: Cooking With Carlee, 2017

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