Sweet Potato-Apple Crisp

This came off of a recipe card that is much stained and smudged which probably means it got used at least a couple of times. I'm a big fan of apple crisps, so the idea of adding sweet potatoes to the mix was intriguing. Additionally, the card came from one of my grandmother's sisters - my Great Aunt June.

The original recipe makes use of canned sweet potato and canned apple which I didn't have on hand. I made the dish with fresh apples and sweet potatoes which certainly changed the cooking time and probably changed the texture of the final dish. That being said, the dish was a success. The final product had an interesting blend of sweet potato and apple tastes. The overall sweetness of the dish was less than a standard dish, but it was still plenty sweet enough to satisfy as a dessert.

I want to fiddle a little with methodology, and it makes me wonder if a straight sweet potato crisp would be a success.

Sweet Potato-Apple Crisp (serves 6-8)

From the kitchen of June M.

• 1 can (16oz) apple slices (or two medium apples cored and sliced)
• 2 cups thin sliced sweet potatoes (2 medium sweet potatoes peeled or from a 16 oz can) 
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 1/2 cup un-sifted flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 5 Tbs butter

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. If using canned apples, drain and reserve the liquid. 
3. Grease a 1.5 quart shallow baking dish. Alternate layers of apples and sweet potatoes. It should be between 2/3 and 3/4 of the way full. Measure the reserved apple liquid if using the canned and add water to equal 6 Tablespoons, or just use all water. Add the lemon juice to the water mixture and pour the whole over the apple-sweet potato mixture. 
4. Mix cinnamon and salt. Sprinkle the top layer with the mixture and set aside.
5. Combine flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a a course meal. Sprinkle evenly over the top layer in the baking dish.
6. Cover the baking dish with a lid or tin foil and back for 45 minutes (fresh ingredients) or 30 minutes (using canned ingredients)
7. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.

Aunt June noted that it doesn't tend to take the full amount of time to bake through when constructed with canned ingredients which I have not tried. She also noted that she had never tried starting from raw ingredients.

I suspect that this could be easily doubled to fit in a standard 9 x 13. While it might need a little more time to bake through, I don't think it would affect the time too much.