Easy and Delicious Apple Crisp
This is one of my favourite fall desserts ever. It’s easy and perfect served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of my homemade caramel sauce. We have loads of apples right now and this delicious crisp is a great way to use them that doesn’t take a lot of time.
Making apple crisp (or some say crumble - to me they are interchangeable - but that’s just me - crisps usually have streusel topping crumbles an oat - this is a mixture of both I guess) is very easy and can also be made with any fruit you might have on hand. The filling is made with fresh sliced apples tossed with some sugar, lemon juice, and spices. You can also add some melted butter and flour for a richer thicker filling - either way is fine though. The topping is made of flour and oats with sugar added and then the cold butter is either mixed in by hand or with a food processor creating the crumbly topping for the crisp. The apples go into a baking dish, followed by the crumbly topping which gets lightly pressed down into the apple mixture and then baked off until it’s golden, apples are tender and the filling is bubbling.
This recipe makes enough to feed a crowd. Feel free to cut the recipe in half if you want to make a smaller batch. Also this particular crisp has a higher apple to topping ratio just because I love the filling and apples. If you would prefer to use less apples that is fine - I would reduce the amount by ⅓ and check the doneness of the them closer to the 45 min mark and also adjust the amount of spices and sweetness accordingly. Just be sure to slice or chop the apples thinly and evenly so that you don’t end up with some apples that aren’t cooked through. I do recommend peeling the apples too. Leaving the skin on will give a chewier texture to the apple filling. A great thing about crisps and crumbles is their versatility. If you don’t have enough apples no biggie I often add pears to the mix and even cranberries. I also love adding some salted caramel sauce to the filling cause I just love apples and caramel together. I always serve it with my homemade caramel sauce on the side because a serving of this with a scoop of ice cream and some caramel sauce drizzled over it is just heavenly!
This Easy Apple Crisp Recipe is a classic old fashioned dessert that makes you feel all warm and cozy! It makes for a great make-ahead dessert and freezes well too. Directions for both below. It’s one of those desserts that also makes the house smell divine - full of warm spices. An easy and great fall bake up and one that you should definitely put on your list of things to make this season. Enjoy!
Recipe
Ingredients
For the filling
- 4 lbs of apples (works out to be approx 8-10 medium apples) of your choice washed, peeled, cored and sliced thin or chopped
- Juice and zest of one lemon
- ½ cup of brown sugar
- 2 tsp of ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour *
- 1 tbsp melted butter *
For the topping
- 1 ½ cups Flour
- 1 cup Rolled oats not quick oats
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup Brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
- ½ lb. of Butter-very cold and cubed (I cube mine and put it into the freezer while I </prepare all dry ingredients)span>
- ½ tsp of salt
Directions
- Combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl and then pour into a 9x13 greased baking dish and set aside while you mix topping
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, and sugars, from the topping ingredients into a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine
- Add very cold butter and pulse a few more times until mixture is crumbly . (Could also use a mixer or you could also just mix it well with a wooden spoon and cut butter in with two knives, pastry blender or using your fingers)
- Spread topping over apples, gently pat to even out and bake on baking sheet for approx. 45 minutes - 1 hour until golden brown and bubbly. Remove from oven when done and let cool for 10 minutes. Dish out and serve with ice cream and drizzles of homemade salted caramel sauce and ENJOY!
* Note: flour and butter in the filling is optional but it’s there to add in to making the filling richer with the juices being thicker as well.
- To Make Ahead: Make the apple filling as instructed but add an extra splash of lemon juice to keep the apples from turning brown. Store in an air-tight container, in the fridge, for up to one day. Make the crumble topping and store separately in the fridge.
- To Freeze: Prepare and bake the apple crisp as directed. Cool completely, then cover with a double layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then warm in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.
- To Store your crisp in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat the crisp simply scoop the amount you want into a bowl and reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, depending on how big your serving is. You can also reheat in the oven too. Add your favorite toppings and dig in!
