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Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: All the flavors of a delicious apple pie, but with a quick and easy oat streusel topping on top.
Texture: Perfectly gooey apples. Crispy oat crumble topping. Melty vanilla ice cream on top. This recipe is texture heaven!
Ease: Super easy and beginner-friendly.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Great for serving a crowd (or to enjoy a few days of leftovers!). And your house will smell AMAZING while this bakes.
The smell in the air while this Apple Crisp recipe bakes in the oven is intoxicating.
You really can’t beat gooey, warm, delicious apples loaded with spices and a crispy oat crumb topping.
This old-fashioned recipe is such a comforting treat in the Autumn season or the summertime!
Plus, this recipe is way easier to make than a full Apple Pie, since you don’t have to bother with preparing a pie crust.
Pair this warm with a scoop of my Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream recipe for absolute dessert perfection.
Made this to share with the family and it was absolutely wonderful! All the kids and their kids just loved it. It was not a difficult recipe, but yet it was totally made from scratch and I love the larger pan size to share with bigger family!!!!
What is Apple Crisp? How is a Crisp Different From a Cobbler?
Apple Crisp is made of apples, spices, and a crisp oat-y topping, essentially! There’s no crust or base to a crisp – just a simple streusel topping. This makes it simpler and faster to make than a pie, but you still achieve all the same wonderful fall flavors, along with a deliciously chewy, crisp topping.
Cobblers, while similar, are topped with more of a biscuit-like or cake-like topping (and sometimes the same base, too) instead of an oat-y streusel topping.
What Type of Apple is Best for Apple Crisp?
Golden Delicious and Honeycrisp have the perfect balance of sweetness to tartness and bake up beautifully. Granny Smith or Gala apples are other great options. Feel free to use a mixture of apples!
Tips for the Perfect Apple Crisp
- Slice apples evenly so they cook evenly.
- Test apple doneness with a fork, toothpick, or cake tester. Sure, you don’t want to burn or undercook your streusel topping, but you can’t just go on how the top looks for this one! Take a moment to pierce a few apples before calling the baking time – no one wants to eat a super crunchy apple in a crisp (or a super soggy one, either!).
- Adjust the spice level to your preference, and based on how FRESH your spices are. We all have a jar of allspice or cloves sitting in the back of our pantry, pulled out for just a handful of recipes every fall …. But how long has it been sitting there? Older spices carry less flavor; fresh spices will carry a LOT more flavor. So, just be aware of that, and adjust the spice level down a little if you prefer a less-spiced crisp, or if your spices are brand new, as this recipe is written to be spice-forward and based on the assumption that most spices aren’t brand new and fresh!
What Pan Should I Use for the Best Apple Crisp?
Use a 9×13-inch pan. Either a light-colored metal or glass baking dish is fine for this recipe. Ceramic works just fine for this apple crisp, too.
How to Serve Apple Crisp
- The best way to serve this Apple Crisp, in my opinion, is warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!
- You can get creative with other toppings, like a drizzle of caramel sauce for an even more deliciously decadent dessert.
- Whipped cream also works well here.
Storage & Make ahead
Prep Ahead:
- Add a little extra fresh lemon juice to your sliced apples to help prevent them from turning super brown.
- Prepare the entire crisp, cover well, and refrigerate overnight.
- Bake as directed, adding 1-3 minutes to the baking time.
Fridge: Store covered for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven at 325°F for 10 minutes, or until warmed through. Also delicious cold! Note the topping will begin to soften after the first day.
Freeze: Bake it, let it cool completely, cover well with layers of plastic wrap, and freeze for up to a month. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating and serving. To reheat, bake covered at 350°F for 20 minutes, or until heated through.
More Apple Recipes You’ll Love:
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Ingredients
For the streusel topping:
- ¾ cup (95 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (99 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cubed
For the filling:
- 7 to 8 fresh apples, such as Golden Delicious or Honeycrisp
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 medium lemon)
- ¼ cup (32 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon (79 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
Make the streusel topping:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9×13-inch metal or glass pan with cooking spray or butter and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Whisk together until combined. With a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs. Place in the refrigerator while you prepare the apple filling.
Make the filling:
- Core, peel, and slice the apples into ¼ -inch to ½ -inch slices until you reach 6 cups of sliced apples, weighing 650 grams. Place in a medium-sized bowl and immediately drizzle with the lemon juice, tossing until evenly coated.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together the flour, sugars, salt, and spices (adjust to your preference*). Pour dry mixture over the apples and toss to coat, mixing until evenly distributed amongst the apples.
- Pour the apple mixture directly into the greased pan. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the apples.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the apples feel tender when pierced with a fork, and the topping is golden brown. Let the apple crisp cool for 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream on top.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
This is really a matter of personal preference, but I always opt to peel my apples to avoid the texture of cooked apple skins. If that texture doesn’t bother you, feel free to skip peeling the apples to save time.
Sure! Simply halve all the ingredients and bake in an 8×8-inch square pan. Reduce the baking time by a few minutes.
Yes! Feel free to add a cup of lightly toasted, chopped walnuts or pecans to the streusel topping, if desired.
I have not tested other fruits in place of apples for this recipe, so just be aware that other fruits may have different bake times, may not work with the listed spices, and may be too sweet or too liquidy for this recipe to be successful. However, I always encourage experimentation, so if you do give this recipe a try with other fruits, please let me know how it goes!
Photos by Joanie Simon.
Super simple yet delicious fall treat to feed a crowd. The spices really come together to create that fall smell we all love. Best served warm with vanilla ice cream.
It’s been a while since I’ve made an apple dessert because I’m not big in them but this came out really great! I enjoyed it as well as my family.
Very easy to make and made our house smell delicious while it was baking. Love this recipe.
Hi Rowena! So glad to hear that!! Thanks for the comment!
This recipe was so easy to make. I actually used it to help teach 2 of my boys baking basics. House smells amazing! We’re taking this to a friend’s house tomorrow so we’ll find out how it tastes then, but if it tastes as good as my house smells, it’ll be fantastic!
Yay!! So glad your kids are learning how to bake with you, Sara! I’m sure this was a hit at your friend’s house! 🙂
This was an easy recipe to make. I used it to teach 2 of my boys baking basics. I’m excited to try it, but we’re taking it to a fiends house tomorrow, but if it tastes as good as my house smells right now, it’ll be amazing.
Hope it tasted as good as it smells, Sara!!
This is so easy and delicious! I made it for a party and it was the first thing to go!
Woohoo! So happy to hear that, Erin!!
Amazing recipe
Yay! Glad to hear that, Nicole!!
Here’s the feedback from my wife: “This is as good as my mom’s”! ‘Nuf said. Thank you, Tessa!
Haha wow, that’s quite the compliment!! So glad this crisp was a hit, Bruce!
I had peaches instead of apples. It turned out good but my husband still orders apple.
So glad you enjoyed this with peaches, Kelly! Can’t wait to hear what you and your husband think about it with apples sometime 🙂
Super easy and quick and tasted delicious! All of the lemon juice and spices definitely elevate the flavor.
So happy to hear you enjoyed this crisp so much, Mia!!
Oh my goodness! I wasn’t sure about this recipe because I’ve never made a Crisp before. I never thought I would like it more than a cobbler. But Y’all!!! This is amazing. It is absolutely so easy to make and it was a huge hit with my family! I will be making this often!!
Yay! So excited that you enjoyed this crisp so much, Shea!! So quick and easy, right?!
So delicious! The flavor was perfectly fall! It was gone SO fast and I’m already planning on making it again.
Hi Melissa! Yay!! So glad this apple crisp was such a hit!! 🙂