A Post in Which Audrey Hepburn Makes an Entirely Gratuitous Appearance

So we’re wondering, on a late afternoon so very beautiful it is likely a sin to set the brain in motion on subjects any more serious than remembering the location of one’s Flip Flops or retro Ray-Bans, just what is the difference between a crumble, a crisp, and a cobbler.

This isn’t merely an exercise; we’ve been asked to bring a dessert to an Easter gathering, and it’s wise, as someone who now and then purports to know a thing or two about food, to get the nomenclature correct.

Each of course is a fairly simple affair: fruit -- with added sugar or syrups or flavorings or not -- is tossed into a pie pan or casserole and dressed before baking with some sort of floury hat. In short, a cobbler is topped with spoonfuls of biscuit dough; a crumble gets scattered with a simple, sweetened pastry mix; and a crisp, the sweetest of them all, revels in a rich streusel.

So, it’s a crisp we’ll make in the morning. It is, after all, Easter. We’ll bring a half-gallon of good vanilla ice cream to go along, just in case the glucose rush isn’t enough.

Apple-Toffee Crisp with Maple Syrup and Pecans

7 or 8 of your favorite baking apples, cored, peeled and sliced (I like Galas; Granny Smiths are great, too)

1/4 cup lemon juice

2/3 cup toffee bits

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

Cinnamon or vanilla extract if desired

1 cup chopped pecans

Maple syrup (we use Grade B)

Additional butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Toss the apples with the lemon juice. Butter a 13 by 9 inch baking dish, and spread the apples into it. Sprinkle with toffee bits.

Make the streusel: In a small bowl, mix together the flour and brown sugar. Add 1 or 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, or a similar amount of vanilla extract, if you like. Slice the butter into bowl, then, with two knives or a pastry cutter, cut the butter pieces into the mixture until well-distributed. Scatter the streusel over the apples.

Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes, until apples are tender and streusel starts to brown. Remove from the oven; top with the pecans and drizzle with maple syrup. Return to the oven for 5 to 10 more minutes, until browned and bubbly.

This is a simple and less soupy crisp than some. I add no sugar to the apples themselves. If you have a real sweet tooth, toss them with 1/2 cup granulated or brown sugar before placing them in the baking dish. And if you want a lot of topping, use 1/4 cup more each of butter, sugar, and flour.

Serve hot with ice cream or sweetened whipped cream. Excellent for the occasional breakfast on a sunny morning as well, we might add. Hat and oversized dark glasses optional.