The only Apple Crisp Recipe you’ll ever need – Tender apples topped with an easy brown sugar oat topping. Serve with vanilla ice cream and watch it disappear.
If you asked me to pick my favorite fall dessert, I would say that I couldn’t. Then my mind would wander to all of the pumpkin spiced, apple studded fall desserts I have made over the years and I would I quietly whisper (so as not to offend any of my other creations), this Apple Crisp recipe. Because it’s classic. Because it’s cozy. And because the combo of warm fruit crisp and cold vanilla ice cream gets me every single time.
Let’s make an Apple Crisp! If you’ve made my Strawberry Crisp, Peach Crisp or my Apple-Pear Crisp, you will notice that this recipe is very similar.
MORE APPLE RECIPES: APPLE CAKE – BAKED APPLE RECIPE – APPLE DUMPLINGS – CINNAMON APPLES – APPLE BREAD
How to Make an Apple Crisp
Apples: Thinly sliced apples are tossed with apple cider, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. A couple tablespoons of flour thicken the apple mixture, and then they get placed in a greased baking dish.
Crisp Topping: Oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and melted butter. This here is my favorite fruit crisp topping. Stir it up and crumble it over the top of the apples. The oats add heartiness, the brown sugar adds a depth of sweetness, and the melted butter ensures that every bite has a crisp buttery texture.
Baking: I like to start baking this Apple Crisp covered with foil. This allows the apples to begin to soften without any risk of the topping over-browning. After about 20 minutes, remove the foil and let the crisp finish cooking uncovered. Uncovering the apple crisp is what is going to make our topping crisp up. Once the juices are bubbling, the topping is golden brown, and the apples are tender, it is done!
What Type of Apples For an Apple Crisp?
Use your favorite baking apples. Honeycrisp, Pink Lady and Fuji are my favorite for this recipe. If you prefer a less sweet apple crisp, you can use Granny Smith apples.
Make sure you slice the apples really thin (1/4 inch or thinner). This way they bake evenly and tender every time.
How to Serve an Apple Crisp:
In my opinion, an Apple Crisp should be served warm, but not hot. It should be warm enough to slowly melt that big scoop of vanilla ice cream that I am undoubtedly placing on top.
Optional: A drizzle of caramel sauce over the top. Or you can even just spoon some of those sweet apple-cinnamon juices from the bottom of the baking dish over the top of your crisp.
Have leftovers? Place them in the refrigerator. You can eat the leftovers cold, straight from the fridge (breakfast of champions), or you can reheat it in the microwave to warm it up again.
Dig in, friends! Happy Apple Season!
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Apple Crisp
Ingredients
Apples:
- 7 cups peeled and thinly sliced apples see note
- 3 tablespoons orange juice or apple cider
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Topping:
- ⅔ cup all purpose flour
- ⅔ cup old fashioned oats
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- Vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 ½ inch deep dish pie plate or 9x9 square baking dish. Set aside.
- For the topping: combine flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add melted butter and stir until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine apples, juice, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir gently until completely combined. Dump the mixture (and any accumulated juices) into the prepared baking dish. Using your fingers, crumble the mixture over the fruit, occasionally pressing some of it together to form clumps.
- Spray a piece of foil with nonstick spray and loosely cover the baking dish. Bake 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, until the topping is golden brown, the apples are tender, and the juices are bubbling around the edges. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Kara says
Do you think I could prep the ingredients the night ahead and put it in the fridge until I bake it the next day?
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Kara. You can definitely prep the topping in advance and keep it in the fridge. I’m not sure about the apples. They will release their juices once mixed with the sugar and they could potentially get mushy and possibly turn brown from exposure to air. If you decide to give it a try let me know how it goes. Enjoy!
Shandel says
Oh my! This looks so delicious thank you for this recipe!
Shandel
Sidra says
Hey I made thisss.. I have also tagged u on Instagram in the pics… I did not have an oven. I made it in a big pot and covered the base of pot with salt as salt absorbs and retains heat and works as an oven..
Everything was perfect.the taste the apples were perfectly done.but the upper crust didn’t turn out crisp…. That was a drawback. Otherwise the taste was superb
Celebrating Sweets says
Thanks for sharing your experience. Hopefully this will be useful to someone else who doesn’t have an oven. I’m glad you enjoyed it!