Spicy Apple - Peanut Butter Crisp

Over the summer, we road tripped to New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment. From Aztec National Monument to Santa Fe, We fell in love with the food, history and cultures. Hatch peppers are wonderful! Being from Oregon, I was delighted to see certified New Mexico Hatch in our local grocery store. This incredible Slow Cooker Crisp has a rich subtle spicy taste that matches perfectly with vanilla ice cream. My son also loves to add it to enhance plainly prepared oatmeal. It gives his breakfast a yummy, spicy kick for the day. The inspiration for this recipe came from a Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook (Feasting with your slow cooker) - Apple Peanut Crumble by Dawn Ranck and Phyllis Pullman Good. However, we tweaked it quite a bit to bring out more flavor - more cinnamon and more peanut butter to compliment the newly added pepper “Heat” flavor. I hope you enjoy making this as much as we enjoy eating it.

3-4 Large Apples, Core/Seeds removed, chopped into bite size pieces. (I used Fuji, but Gala and Braeburn apples would work well too).
1/2 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Quick Cooking Oats
2/3 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
1 Hatch Pepper (Anaheim may be used as a substitute). Fire roasted - skins and seeds removed. Finely chopped (1 Large Hatch Pepper - Approximately equals a 1/4 Cup finely chopped pepper).
3 Tablespoons Creamy Peanut Butter
1/3 Cup Softened Butter

For Pepper Roasting:
I used a Broiler Rack suitable for use over the open flame of our fire pit.
You will want to use oven mitts/pot holders to hold onto handle of Broiler Rack. (Please follow the manufacturers directions).
Long handled tongs also make it easier to move the hot roasted peppers.
You will also need a Ziploc Gallon Bag for Pepper steaming purposes.
***(Gloves - To protect you hands from the pepper oils. Please use them for removing skin/seeds/chopping)***
Knife and Cutting board.

Finally, you will need a slow cooker. I have a 5 quart capacity. It fills mine to the halfway mark or just slightly above. If you have a larger slow cooker, you may want to add more apples to bring your level up to the halfway mark.

Prepare your peppers first. Even though this recipe only calls for one, I like to fire roast a bunch to have on hand. This way they are ready to go for another recipe.
1 Hatch Pepper - Fire roasted - skins and seeds removed. Finely chopped ***(Glove up when removing skin/seeds/chopping in case they are too spicy for hands). ***

I used a broiler rack used for grilling over open flame. Follow manufacturers instructions of use. Char the pepper as shown in my picture. With tongs, immediately place the charred peppers in a Ziploc gallon bag and close. Use oven mitts and handle hot bag with care. The trapped steam heat will help loosen the pepper skin. When cool enough to handle, slide the pepper out of the bag and peel away the skin. Then cut out the seeds and discard skin and seeds. Finely chop and set aside one Hatch Pepper for the Apple Crisp.

First core and remove seeds from your apples. Chop into bit-sized pieces. Place them on the bottom of the slow cooker - as shown in the picture.

Mix Quick Oats, Flour, Cinnamon and Brown Sugar.

Next add chopped pepper, peanut butter and softened butter. I soften my butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds right before mixing. (Microwave ovens can differ). Mix well. Spoon over your apple layer in the slow cooker.

As mentioned previously, I have a 5 quart capacity with my slow cooker. I find that 4 hours of cooking time, at low heat, does a great job. The apples should be soft when you test them for doneness. When done, I usually leave the lid off while it’s cooling down. Serve this delicious crisp over vanilla ice cream. If you enjoyed this recipe, I would love your feedback. I’ve also entered this recipe for the spicy contest, if you’d like to go vote. Thanks! This was a fun one for my first instructables.