I love this recipe, and having tasted it know it tastes perfectly wonderful. You’ve asked for comments with different takes on the master recipe. Here are two of mine.

First – Obviously, the amount of butter or coconut oil (plus the fat in the nuts) in a recipe that serves 6 is not an excessive level of fat. But I still eliminate it by using juice as a binder for the topping. It doesn’t matter what kind of juice; each adds its own element. The topping is not as soft and crumbly as yours. It gets crunchy, but is still quite good.

Second – When I make apple crisp, I get to use my FAVORITE kitchen tool: the apple corer/peeler/slicer. This tool has an illustrious history, having been used at least since colonial times. It is inexpensive (around $20). It is fast – I can prepare 10-12 apples in 5-10 minutes. The apples come off the gadget spiral sliced. To use them in the crisp, I make a few downward slices and the spirals are diced. And kids LOVE to turn the handle to make it all happen. BTW, the New York Historical Society (Central Park West, between 76th and 77th) has a wonderful collection of apple corer/peeler/slicers in its permanent collection.