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The fruits of fall transition beautifully into winter. A simple sprinkle of spice or warmth like buttery caramel gives depth to apples, pears and cranberries throughout fall and into winter. Only a few ingredients are required letting the fruits and spices be the feature of this simple apple crisp.
What I love most is the flexibility of this recipe. You can add other fruits or berries that are in season; change the spices to pair with the fruits or top the crisp with ice cream or homemade caramel sauce. There’s no need to pull out a heavy mixer or loud equipment, all you need is a few bowls, a wooden spoon and your hands. This is what makes crisps (or crumbles) old-fashioned, simple and delicious.
There is a peacefulness when baking with nothing other than your ingredients and your hands, at least it is for me! It reminds me of my grandma whipping up a special treat at the cottage or when I was a child always having a dessert on hand.
Entertaining
I made this simple apple crisp for a few friends to finish a fall inspired meal. I was hoping to enjoy the meal over candlelight in the backyard before it got too cold to enjoy the last of the season outside. Unfortunately on this particular day the temperature dropped and a cold wind blew through the city making us retreat to the warmth of my kitchen. In spite of the weather, we had a great time and a delicious meal.
As much as I love the summer, I’m always happy for the change in weather and finding new inspirations for my cooking and baking.
The Meal
- Homemade pumpkin ravioli fried in brown butter, sage and walnuts
- Roasted beets with dill
- A fresh baguette dipped in truffle oil
- A simple apple crisp with ice-cream
- White wine
Ingredients
- Pink Lady apples (Cortland or Mcintosh)
- Fresh lemon juice
- Brown sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Large flaked oats
- Pecans
- Unsalted butter
- Ground cinnamon & ground cloves
- Salt
Gluten Free Variation
You can easily make this simple apple crisp gluten free. Sub the flour for cornstarch to thicken the apple mixture and use your favourite gluten free flour for your crumble. Voila!
How To Make a Simple Apple Crisp
Step One: Peel and slice baking apples. Coat apples with lemon juice as you work so they don’t turn brown. Mix sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour with the apples. Let rest for the sugar mixture to pull the juices out of the apples.
Step Two: Add apples and all the juices to your baking dish. I like to try fun dishes like pie plates etc.
Step Three: While your apples rest make your topping. In a bowl, add oats, pecans, flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt together and stir to combine. Add butter and rub together with your fingers until the mixture comes together in large crumbs, then add the crumble on top of the apples. Bake until juicy and crisp.
Simple Apple Crisp
A simple, classic apple crisp never goes out of style. With large flaked oats, cinnamon, butter and brown sugar this will be your fall favourite dessert for years to come.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Canadian
Ingredients
Filling
- 5–6 large Pink Lady apples (Cortland or Mcintosh)
- Fresh lemon juice to keep apples from browning
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour (optional – to thicken juices)
Topping
- 1 1/2 cups large flaked oats
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ËšF.
- Peel, core and slice apples into the same size slices for even baking. Add apple slices to a large bowl and continue to lightly cover the apples in lemon juice as you go (to keep apples from browning).
- Mix apples, sugar, cinnamon, cloves (and flour if using) together, coating all the apples. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add oats, chopped pecans, flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt together and stir to combine. Add butter and rub together with your fingers until the mixture comes together in large crumbs.
- In a large deep dish pie plate (or a 8 x 8″ baking dish), add apples and juices. Top with oat topping and crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes or until the apples are soft when pierced with a fork.
- Let crisp rest for 5-10 minutes and enjoy warm.
Notes
Cover when cool and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat as needed or enjoy at room temperature.Â
You can easily make this apple crisp gluten free. Sub the all-purpose flour for cornstarch to thicken the apple mixture and use your favourite gluten free flour for your crumble.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving of 12
- Calories: 236
- Sugar: 14.5g
- Sodium: 93mg
- Fat: 13.3g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 26.9g
- Fiber: 4.1g
- Protein: 2.9g
- Cholesterol: 15mg
FAQ’s
Yes, the fun part about making crisps is you can really add any of your favourite fruits. In fact, adding other fruits can make for a more interesting and flavourful dessert. Some popular fruits to add are pears, berries (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries), peaches, plums, pears and cherries.
Yes, you can make an apple crisp ahead of time in a few different ways. One way is by preparing the apple filling and crumble topping ahead of time and keeping them separate in the fridge. Then when ready to bake just layer the filling and topping into a baking dish. Another way is to bake the entire dish and refrigerate it for up to 2 days, reheat in the oven at 350ËšF for approx. 10-15 minutes.
If you want to jazz up an apple crisp you can serve it with your favourite ice cream, whipping cream, caramel sauce, or cheddar cheese.
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I love hearing from you! Leave a comment with any questions or how your recipe turned out (your email address will not be published)!
Alie, thanks for another wonderful recipe. It’s so delicious it doesn’t need ice cream.
My pleasure Cathy, so happy hear you like the apple crisp :). xo