Classic Apple Crisp
With all the apple recipes out there, it's amazing how difficult it is to find a good, basic apple crisp. You know, one of those recipes you're desperately seeking (along with applesauce) when you've just gone to the orchard with the kids, and they enthusiastically filled two very large bags with apples.
While this version of apple crisp may seem daunting, with a fairly long list of ingredients, many are simply optional enhancements. Basically, you're looking at apples, sugar, thickener, and a touch of spice in the filling; and flour, sugar, butter, oats, and cinnamon in the topping.
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 pounds whole apples, to yield 2 pounds peeled, cored, and sliced apples; about 9 cups
- 1/4 cup rum, apple cider or juice, or the liquor/juice of your choice; or water
- 1/4 to 3/4 cup brown sugar, depending on the sweetness/tartness of your apples
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 2 tablespoons boiled cider, optional but good
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Apple Pie Spice; or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg + 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or tapioca flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping
- 3/4 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup brown sugar, light or dark
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) cold butter, cut in pats
- 1/2 cup diced pecans or walnuts, optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9" x 9" square cake pan, or similar-size casserole pan.
- Slice the apples about 1/4" thick. Toss them with the remaining filling ingredients, and spread them in the pan.
- To make the topping, whisk together the flour, oats, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder.
- Add the cold butter, working it in to make an unevenly crumbly mixture. Stir in the nuts, if you're using them.
- Spread the topping over the apples in the pan.
- Set the pan on a parchment- or foil-lined cookie sheet, to catch any potential drips. Bake the crisp for about 60 minutes, till it's bubbling and the top is golden brown.
- Remove it from the oven, and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. If you serve the crisp hot/warm, it may be quite soft. If you wait till it's completely cool, it'll firm up nicely. A good compromise is to wait for it to cool completely, then reheat individual portions briefly in the microwave. Vanilla ice cream is a tasty accompaniment.
- Yield: 9 to 12 servings.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 1/12th pan (130g)
- Servings Per Batch 12
Amount Per Serving:
- Calories 250
- Calories from Fat 90
- Total Fat 10g
- Saturated Fat 6g
- Trans Fat 0g
- Cholesterol 25mg
- Sodium 55mg
- Total Carbohydrate 37g
- Dietary Fiber 2g
- Sugars 25g
- Protein 2g
* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.
Tips from our bakers
- To make individual crisps, grease eight 8-ounce capacity baking dishes, and proceed with the recipe accordingly, baking the smaller crisps for 45 to 55 minutes.
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Reviews
Really good! Not too sweet. Lots of crunch when it cools off. I used Captain Morgan spiced rum and included the boiled cider.
This is the best. Would make again and again. Perfect dessert.
Followed the recipe , loved it hand's down The best apple crisp I ever made , or had . to be honest I'm making again this week , Thank you and happy baking !
This is the best apple crisp I have eaten. So said everyone at the table. The boiled apple cider makes a very big improvement. I will be making apple crisp again.
The crisp is baking and smell fantastic. The recipe calls for a 1/2 cup pecans and then does not tell you what to do with the pecans. I am an experienced cook and baker. The prep time listed is not realistic. I will write a review after eating the crisp when it is cool enough.You're right about the pecans/walnuts, fellow baker. Thanks for catching that. We've asked our Recipe Team to clarify that the nuts, if using, should be added in with the other topping ingredients. We found 20 minutes to be sufficient prep time if using an apple peeler and corer, which makes quick work of slicing the apples. If peeling and slicing by hand, you can expect the prep time to be longer. Kye@KAF
I made this crisp and it was terrific. I used cortland apples, had to substitute bourbon for rum and it came out great. Thank you for the recipe!
The first time I baked this, I had to use an 8 x 8 pan and it was wonderful. The apples were piled high and it tasted like apple pie. Really yummy. The next time I had a 9 x 9 pan in the crisp came out wonderful as well. I think I like the 8 x 8 pan best.
Great flavor all around, and good texture in the apple layer. I found half a cup of sugar in the filling was about right for my apples, which were very tart. The topping turned out rather sandy, though--not crumbly. Where did I go wrong? My only change was to leave out the boiled cider.The topping tends to turn "sandy" if the butter isn't cold enough or if it's worked into the topping too much. Next time try leaving the butter in larger chunks and start with very cold butter. This should give you the crisp-crumble texture you're looking for. Kye@KAF
Can this be frozen (I have more than we can eat)?Leftover crisp? What an unheard of problem! You're welcome to try freezing any leftovers well-wrapped or in an airtight container. The crisp topping may get slightly soft once thawed; you may want to consider reheating any leftovers in the oven at 350°F for 10-15 minutes, until heated through to re-crisp the topping. Kye@KAF
I had a real problem with prep time and bake time on this recipe. I made a double recipe and had enough for a 9x12 and an 8x8 pan. Based on the recipe prep time should have been 15-20 min and maybe 30 to 40 min for a double (less as some things don't take additional time. Really? I couldn't peel and slice all those apples in that time! My prep time was 75 minutes! Bake time for the 9x12 was 1hr and 55 min - to get to an internal temp of 175 degrees. The 8x8 pan baked for 1hr and 30 min.- a lot longer than the recipe stated. I was baking this for an event - and consequently missed the event due to this timing issue. The crisp was delicious but the timing on your recipe was way off. I am an experienced baker and my oven temp is accurate.The prep time for this recipe varies drastically based on the method used to peel, core, and slice the apples. We use an apple, peeler, and corer machine (as shown in the blog) to make quick work of this. If you're peeling and slicing by hand, it will take notably longer. If you love baking apple desserts, then it might be worth investing in this handy tool. We're surprised to hear your crisp took so much longer to bake than expected; as soon as the juices bubble, it's done. In the future, you can always increase the oven temperature if you're not seeing it look done near the end of the baking time. We hope your next bake is more enjoyable. Kye@KAF
