Classic Apple Crisp

Tender apples covered in cinnamon sugar and topped with a crunchy crumble make the perfect fall dessert for family dinners and the holidays! This Classic Apple Crisp recipe offers all the traditional apple crisp flavors with healthy substitutes for those who want to cut down on sugar and gluten.

Every fall family blesses us with delicious apples. They are straight from the tree and perfect for eating and baking. However, even with a large family, we are looking for ways to use up the last of these apples. We eat them fresh with our families, paired with this simple and scrumptious Apple Dip. We have even discovered these divine Apple Blondies with a Maple Cream Cheese Frosting. However, nothing beats a warm, delicious Classic Apple Crisp. It’s full of simple cinnamon and sugar flavors that the whole family can love! It can be served on its own or over creamy vanilla ice cream for an added bonus.

The beauty of this Apple Crisp recipe is that it can be easily transformed into a healthy, gluten-free apple crisp with a few minor, doable substitutions. Realize, though, that it’s a healthy dessert transformation. We are not making a dessert into a fiber-filled, sugar-free quiche or anything. All that said, my kids enjoy this apple crisp in both the classic and healthier ways.

How to make a Classic and Healthy Apple Crisp

This is a beginner recipe perfect for learning new skills of preparing fruit and cutting butter. It also takes pantry staples and transforms them into an easy fall dessert. This is an easy apple crisp recipe, with preparing the apples as the most challenging part, so try it out today!

Ingredients for an Apple Crisp

• 10-12 cups of peeled, cored, and sliced apples
  • The kind and age of the apples play a massive part in how they will cook down. For a sturdy apple crisp with little liquid, use a baking apple like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith. For a sweet and tender crisp, use apple varieties higher in sugar, like McIntosh, Golden Delicious, or Gala.
  • This is a great recipe to use up older apples. Cut out the bad parts and slice.
  • Do not be afraid to use a variety of apples to enhance the flavor profile, such as Granny Smith and Honeycrisp. Or a green-and-red apple mix.
  • Remember, it’s hard to go wrong. All apples are generally great for this simple apple crisp recipe.
• 1/2 cup of sugar(Healthy subsitution: 1/3 cup pure maple syrup)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 cup flour(Healthy subsitution: oat flour for a gluten-free apple crisp)
  • Oat flour is pretty amazing. It’s easy to make at home in small batches, and there’s no buying bags of flour that go bad in the pantry, only to be forgotten.
  • How to make simple oat flour: Blend up your oats! Yes, oat flour is ground up oats. It is made by grinding whole oats, such as rolled or steel-cut oats, into a fine powder, which can be done easily at home with a blender or food processor. It’s that simple! Use a 1:1 conversion. One cup of oats is roughly one cup of oat flour.
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • Yep, still using brown sugar. I said “healthier” apple crisp.
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
  • Small cubes work best.
  • You do not need a pastry cutter to cut in butter. Here are a couple of ways to cut in butter without a pastry cutter. You can use two knives, a food processor, or your hands. For a two-knife method, hold one knife in each hand and cross-cut the butter into small pieces. A food processor can quickly chop butter into flour by using short pulses. If using your hands, work the butter and flour mixture together quickly to keep the butter from getting too soft from your body heat. I would recommend a food processor or working with your hands.
• optional: 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • Pecans add a hearty, nutty flavor, making this apple crisp the perfect side for Thanksgiving or Christmas. A fruit side for the holidays is always welcome!

Instructions for an Easy Apple Crisp

Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 9×13-in baking dish with cooking spray.

Place the apples in a large bowl. Mix the apples with the granulated sugar (or maple syrup) and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon until all the apples are coated. Evenly spread the coated apples into the greased baking dish.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour(or oat flour), brown sugar, oats, baking powder, and remaining cinnamon. Then cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles a coarse crumble. Sprinkle the crumble over the apples.

Bake the apple crisp for 50-60 minutes or until apples are cooked through and tender. Pro Tip: Broil the top for 2-3 minutes for an extra crisp crumble. Make sure to watch it as it broils so the crisp doesn’t burn. Serve warm with optional vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

How to store an Apple Crisp

Store the cooled apple crisp, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days. To store it longer, refrigerate the apple crisp, covered, for 3-5 days.

Other Fall Favorite Desserts

Need to use up apples? This Easy Skillet Apples recipe is tender apples in a buttery, cinnamon-sugar sauce. It’s the perfect way to make a sweet side or ice cream topping from apples!

Crisp broccoli, tender pasta, and bacon make an excellent salad! This Bacon Broccoli Pasta Salad has it all: tart onions and cranberries, savory bacon, sunflower kernels, and a sweet homemade dressing, too. It’s flavorful and easy to make, making it a great holiday salad.

Want a fun way to eat Oreos? Try out these Oreo Rice Krispies Treats. They have the same great flavor as the classic Rice Krispies treat, infused with delicious Oreo cookies! Then there’s the equally scrumptious Cookies and Cream Popcorn. Freshly popped popcorn coated in white chocolate and crushed Oreo cookies. It’s more like candy; addicting and oh, soooo good! Add a festive sprinkle for a customized snack to any holiday or birthday party.