This warm and cozy apple crumble is an old fashioned dessert that everyone loves. Sweet cinnamon-spiced apples covered in a brown sugar crumb topping. Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream.
It’s our first new apple recipe of the season and it is a winner. You guys are going to love this apple crumble! Tender cinnamon-spiced apples covered in a buttery brown sugar crumb topping. This recipe joins our Apple Cobbler and our popular Apple Crisp. Crisps, cobblers, and crumbles are our favorite way to bake with apples.
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Recipe overview
Apples: Thinly sliced apples are tossed with apple juice, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. A couple tablespoons of flour thicken the apple mixture and then they get placed in a baking dish.
Crumb topping: Combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Cut cold butter into the dry ingredients until you have a crumbly mixture with small pieces of butter all throughout.
Baking: Start baking this apple crumble covered with foil. This allows the apples to begin to soften without the topping burning. After about 20 minutes, remove the foil and let the crumble finish cooking uncovered. Once the juices are bubbling, the topping is golden brown, and the apples are tender, it is done!
What is the difference between an apple crisp and an apple crumble?
The fruit filling of our crisp and crumble are the same; it is the topping that is different. An apple crisp topping includes oats and uses melted butter, which create a crispier texture while baking in the oven. An apple crumble topping is more of a traditional crumb topping (no oats), similar to what you would see on an apple pie or a crumb cake. Cold butter gets cut into the flour and sugar creating a drier, almost sandy texture.
Best apples for apple crumble
Use your favorite baking apples. Honeycrisp, Pink Lady and Fuji are my favorites for this recipe. If you prefer a less sweet filling, you can use Granny Smith apples. If you have more than one type of apple you can also use a variety.
Recipe tips
- Slice the apples ¼ inch or thinner so that they cook through and get soft and tender.
- Butter in the crumb topping should be really cold (straight from the fridge). Work quickly when making the topping so that the butter doesn’t get too soft.
- Bake the crumble covered for the first portion of the bake time. This ensures that the topping won’t get too dark.
- Allow the crumble to cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. The juices will thicken up a bit as it cools.
Serving and storage
Serving: This apple crumble is best served warm the day it is made. You can top it with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
Storage: Place leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to two days. You can eat the leftovers cold or you can reheat individual servings in the microwave. The topping will soften over time from the moisture in the apples.
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Recipe
Apple Crumble Recipe
Ingredients
Apple filling:
- 6 cups peeled thinly sliced apples, see note
- 3 tablespoons orange juice, apple juice, or water
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Topping:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- vanilla ice cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9 ½ inch deep dish pie plate or 9×9 square baking dish. Set aside.
- For the filling: 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.
- For the topping: combine flour, both sugars, salt, and cinnamon. Add cubed butter (it should be cold). With a pastry cutter or using your fingers cut/rub the butter into the flour mixture until it is in small pebble-sized pieces and resembles sand.
- Spray a piece of foil with nonstick spray and cover the baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes, until the topping is golden brown, the apples are tender, and the juices are bubbling around the edges. Cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Ashley
I love that this was so easy and so good. We love it and will definitely make it again!
Allison
I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Beth
Ooooo, this is comfort food at its best! I love this recipe with a little drizzle of caramel sauce too – delish!
Allison
Great idea. Yum!