Karen Pickus: GMA and GMA NOW's Best Kept Secret

Dec. 12, 2007 — -- You may not have seen her on screen, but you've definitely seen her work.

"Good Morning America" chef Karen Pickus helps set up each cooking segment you see on the show. Pickus, who also collaborates on "Good Morning America NOW," shares some of her personal recipes below.

This is a wonderful tasting recipe, simple to make and an ideal treat during this abundant apple season. I chose these types of apples because they are readily available, they last throughout the year and, I believe they are the best choice for this preparation.

Ingredients

For the filling:

For the topping:

Method

For the filling:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x12-inch baking dish (glass or ceramic) with the Tbs. of butter. Peel and core all of the apples. Cut each apple into 12 wedges and place in a large bowl. Add the remaining filling ingredients and toss until all of the apples are well coated. Place the coated apples into the prepared baking dish.

For the topping:

Cut the cold butter into small cubes and refrigerate until ready to use. In a large bowl, place all of the remaining topping ingredients, and stir with a wire whisk. Add the cold butter and break up and combine the butter with your hands until it forms into a crumbly mixture. Alternatively, place all of the dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until just combined. Add the cold butter cubes and pulse a few times until the ingredients form a crumbly mixture. Spread the topping evenly over the apples and place in the preheated oven. Bake until apples are tender when pierced with a knife (about 45 minutes). Let cool on a wire rack. Serve with maple whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Serves 6 to 8

This is my crisp recipe, easily turned into a pie, simply by adding some flour to the filling and following the recipe for my pie crust. To save time, use a store-bought pie shell.

Ingredients

For the Pie Crust:

For the filling: