Pumpkin Apple Crisp

Warm, autumnal pumpkin and traditional, comforting apple,  A perfect flavor blend, in my opinion!  A friend once made crisp with a cereal topping, and I thought it was a brilliant idea, as it makes it so easy to get that good flavor and crunch on top of the fruit.

Ingredients for filling:

3 apples

1 pie pumpkin

Juice of 1/2 of a lemon

2 Tbsp. butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 Tbsp. water

Ingredients for topping:

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup of a crispy flake cereal (I used Vanilla Oatmeal Crisp)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 F.

2.  Peel and chop apples and pumpkin and place in separate bowls.  Toss each with some lemon juice to prevent browning.

3.  Mix topping ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

4.  Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large pan over medium heat.  Stir in the sugars, spice and water and allow to cook until the sugar starts dissolving, about 4 to 5 minutes.

5.  Add water and chopped pumpkin and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6.  Add chopped apples and cook for 4 to 5 minutes more, stirring often to ensure that all fruit is covered with the sugar sauce.

7.  Pour the fruit mixture into a large baking dish (i.e. 9" x 13") and crumble the topping over it.

8.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until it is bubbling up around the sides and the topping is starting to brown.

9.  Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes and then serve.  This is delicious hot or cold!