Apple Crisp

This Easy Apple Crisp recipe is made with fresh chopped apples, warm spices, and an simple crispy oat topping – it’s the perfect easy fall dessert!

 

Estimated reading time: 20 minutes

Apple Crisp is one of those classic comfort food desserts that everyone loves. We’ve been making this easy apple crisp recipe for years and it’s one of our family’s favourite simple desserts, especially during the fall when apples are at their peak freshness.

It’s an easy sweet treat served with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream – trust us, if you’ve never made apple crisp before, this is the recipe for you!

Apple crisp is a beloved comfort-food dessert that’s made with soft, sweet, baked apples beneath a streusel topping that’s usually made with oats. Traditional apple crisp includes cooked apples, butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and often oats and brown sugar. Some versions include ginger, nutmeg and other warm spices, and other fruits like berries or even rhubarb.

Desserts like Apple Crisp are so popular not only because of how easy they are to make but also because they call for limited ingredients. Unlike a traditional fruit pie, crisp recipes call for more fresh fruit and less butter, sugar, and flour.

Apple Crisp is often served warm from the oven and topped with custard, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.

Apple Crisp, Apple Crumble, and Apple Cobbler are 3 classic desserts that are often confused but are distinctly different. Here’s how to tell them apart:

An Apple Crisp features a layer of baked apples underneath a crispy, streusel-like topping made from a combination of oats, flour, butter, sugar, and cinnamon. The inclusion of oats in the topping is a defining characteristic of an apple crisp, giving it a crispy texture that becomes golden brown in the oven.

Apple Crumble is very similar to an apple crisp and the terms are often used interchangeably. However a crumble is a British dessert that is made with a layer of baked apples and a crumble topping that is typically made from butter, flour, and sugar. When combined, the topping forms a breadcrumb-like texture and clumps up in the oven to form a tender, almost shortbread-like topping. Unlike Apple Crisp, a crumble doesn’t usually include oats in the topping, but if it does contain some oats, it’s almost always a lesser amount than an Apple Crisp.

Apple Cobbler is a different dessert made with baked apples covered with biscuit dough, pie crust dough, or a batter topping. The dough or batter is dropped in clumps over the fruit, giving it a “cobbled” appearance, which is where the name comes from. The topping on a fruit cobbler is more bread-like or cake-like in texture compared to the crumbly topping of crisps and crumbles.

Baking Apple Crisp is an art and a science! Here’s how to master it:

For the ideal balance of sweetness and tartness, as well as texture that holds up well under heat, choose apples like Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Honeycrisp, or a combination.

If you want the apples to bake evenly, be sure to chop them evenly. Aim for pieces that are similar in size to guarantee each bite is perfectly tender. This prevents some pieces from becoming too mushy, while others remain hard and undercooked​​.

Peeling the apples can create a more uniform texture in the filling, but leaving the skin on offers added nutrients like fibre, and it gives this dish a rustic look. We hate peeling produce – it’s absolutely not necessary to peel the apples for this recipe.

Brown sugar creates the most delicious caramelized flavour in the filling, especially when paired with warm spices like cinnamon, so be sure to use it instead of granulated sugar in the filling!

In many baked fruit desserts, cornstarch is used to thicken the filling. But because of the high pectin concentration in the apples, the natural juices that are released when cooking concentrate to create the perfect velvety consistency without the need for any additional thickeners​​.

For the crisp topping, cold butter is the key. It helps to create those delicious, flaky crumbs that crisp up beautifully in the oven. Cut the butter into small pieces and mix with the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs​​​​.

Once you’ve assembled your apple crisp, get it into the oven right away. Letting it sit can cause the butter in the topping to get soft, making the topping less crispy. The topping can also get soggy from the fruit’s moisture underneath. Baking it immediately ensures the topping stays crisp and the fruit stays nice and tender​​.

Here’s a list of issues you might encounter when making this apple crisp recipe and how to fix them!

A dry topping can happen when you don’t add enough butter to the crumble topping. Ensure your ratio of butter to dry ingredients (flour and oats) is correct, according to the recipe. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs and hold together when pinched together in your hands.

Apples release a lot of juice when they cook, so choose apples that are less juicy, like Granny Smith, Fuji, Golden Delicious, or Honey Crisp apples, and make sure to chop them evenly for consistent cooking.

Different apple varieties cook at different rates. Choose apples that hold their shape well when baked, like Honey crisp or Granny Smith. Checking regularly towards the end of cooking time can also prevent overcooking.

Chop the apples evenly to ensure consistent cooking. Starting with a preheated oven can also help cook the apples thoroughly.

If your oven cooks unevenly or too intensely at the top, cover the crisp with aluminum foil partway through cooking. This can prevent the topping from burning while allowing the apples to continue softening. However, for a crispy topping, consider removing the foil a few minutes before the cooking time ends.

Here’s a list of the basic kitchen equipment you’ll need to make this easy apple crisp recipe (paid links):

• 9-inch x 9-inch square baking pan
• Cutting Board
• large knife
• measuring cups and spoons
• Silicone Spatula
• large mixing bowl

Here’s a list of the ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious and easy Apple Crisp recipe (paid links):

FOR THE APPLE FILLING:

• 4-6 large apples 6 cups of chopped apples
• 4 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (or use apple pie spice in place of the individual spices)

FOR THE CRISP TOPPING:

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter cold from the fridge

Take this recipe to the next level with one of these delicious and creative variations!

1. Almond Flour: Replace the all purpose flour in the topping with almond flour for a gluten-free apple crisp option. Be sure to use gluten-free oats, too.
2. Maple: Add maple syrup instead of the brown sugar in the apple mixture for a maple-flavoured twist, and add some maple extract to the crumble topping.
3. Nuts: Add some crushed or chopped pecans or walnuts to the topping for some added crunch and nutty flavour.
4. Caramel: Add some caramel sauce to the top before serving for a caramel twist on the classic apple crisp.
5. No Refined Sugar: Replace the sugar with coconut sugar for a variation without refined sugar.
6. Vegan: Use vegan butter or coconut oil in place of the butter to keep this recipe vegan and free of dairy.

We hope you love this delicious Apple Crisp recipe as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite dessert to make during apple season? We’d love to know!

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