Apple pecan crisp

Autumn is such a wonderful time for apples. I'm fairly indifferent to them for most of the year, but come fall I'm mad for BC apples. Ambrosia and Honeycrisp varietals make a seasonal appearance at the farmers market, and even the more common Delicious, Jonagold, Spartan, and Mcintosh come into their own.

Although the peak season is now past, I had just enough apples to make this crisp. This is the last of the BC fruit that mom and dad gave me. Good to the bittersweet end :-).

Unfortunately I didn't have any oats for the topping, but the pecans will provide a bit of texture. (And the whole grain whole wheat flour sounds very healthy, doesn't it?) As for the apples, I'm not sure what varieties these are (Golden Delicious and Spartan?), but using a combination seemed nice. 

Apple pecan crisp

6 apples, cored and roughly chopped (I didn't peel them)
lemon juice
Jamaican dark rum
cinnamon
Chinese five spice
1/2 c whole grain whole wheat flour
pinch salt
3/8 c brown sugar
1/3 c margarine
1/2 c pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Place the chopped apples in a greased 8x8 pan and dust them with some of the spices. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over them, along with a dash of rum. For the topping: combine the flour, salt, and brown sugar in a bowl. Cut the margarine into the mixture until it has a crumb-like texture. Stir in the pecans, and sprinkle with some more spices. Distribute the topping evenly over the apples. Bake for 45 oh-so-fragrant minutes or until the filling is bubbling.