I love my Apple Crisp Recipe Epicurious. I know that the first thought that you’ll have is probably, “Those must be the best apples in the world!” And you’d be partly right because as always your best results are going to come from using the freshest ingredients possible. But you’re also mostly wrong because I actually like it even more when I use less than top-notch ingredients.
Apple Crisp
- Active Time25 minutes
- Total Time1 hour and 15 minutes
Abby Dodge, a cookbook author and expert baker, developed this recipe especially for Epicurious. According to Dodge, apples, which can be sweet, sour, or anywhere in between, are what give this dessert its flavor. She advises using a mix of Golden Delicious and McIntosh apples. The McIntosh cultivar is juicy and delicious, and when baked, it disintegrates. The more sour Golden Delicious apples will soften a little in the oven, but they will keep their shape. Both are easily accessible, although Honey Crisp can be used in place of the Golden Delicious, while Macouns are a fine substitution for the McIntosh.
Ingredients
Makes 6 to 8 servings
For the crisp topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
For the apple filling:
2 pounds firm, sweet apples (4 to 5 medium-large apples)
Up to 1/4 cup water
For serving (optional):
Vanilla ice cream or heavy cream
Equipment: 8-inch-square baking dish, preferably ceramic, glass, enamel-coated cast-iron, or stainless steel (avoid aluminum or uncoated cast-iron)
Make the crisp topping:
Step 1
Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. When the butter is integrated and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, add the butter pieces and combine the mixture with your fingertips. While you prepare the apple filling, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator to chill.
How to make apple filling
Step 2
The oven should be preheated to 375 degrees with a rack in the middle.
Step 3
The apples should be peeled and then cut lengthwise. Remove the cores and throw them away. There should be around 6 cups total after slicing the apple halves lengthwise into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Spread out the apple slices evenly in an 8-inch square baking dish that has not been oiled. If the apples are exceptionally juicy, use less water—up to 1/4 cup—and drizzle it over them.
Step 4
Without pressing down, sprinkle the crisp topping evenly over the fruit. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the topping is browned, the apples are soft when pierced with a knife, and the juices are bubbling. Place on a wire rack and let cool for ten minutes. Serve warm, with or without a dollop of heavy cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. DO AHEAD: Apple crisp can be baked, thoroughly cooled, covered, and stored for one day at room temperature. Reheat until well cooked, uncovered, in a warm oven.
The Best Apple Crisp
In search of the BEST Apple Crisp Recipe? one that is flavorful and has been refined over time to be a recipe that NEVER FAILS? That’s it. What’s my little-known secret? DOUBLE THE CROUTONS! For the holidays, I’ll be preparing this, my sugar cookie recipe, and a piggy pie dessert.
Apple Crisp Recipe
You always believe your recipe to be the finest, if you’re anything like me. I thought my apple crisp, which I’ve been cooking for a few years, couldn’t be topped, but wow was I wrong. I tried this dish in the fall of last year, and I’ve since made it at least 15 times. Every time, it is flawless!
This recipe combines the perfect amount of rich oat crisp with a tangy apple (which is crucial; I’ll explain why below) and just the proper amount of buttery richness. There is no need to search further if you want to find the tastiest apple crisp you have ever eaten.
Brown Sugar Apple Crisp
Most recipes specify either all granulated sugar or a mixture of granulated and brown sugar. Despite being sweet, these recipes don’t have the rich flavor that brown sugar gives. And once you’ve tried this apple crisp, you’ll know exactly what I mean! Although I chose light brown sugar, dark brown sugar is also an excellent choice. You can always create your own brown sugar if you don’t have any on hand.
How to Make Brown Sugar at Home
Add 1-2 teaspoons of molasses to 1 cup of granulated sugar to make light brown sugar. Add 3–4 teaspoons of dark brown sugar to 1 cup of regular sugar. You can mix by hand if you’d rather, but I like to make a huge quantity in my food processor.
Oat Mixture
As you can see, I also add brown sugar in the oat mixture and the apple coating. It is crisp because of this. Oats used to be absent from a “crumble,” but the terms are now used synonymously.)
The fact that the oat mixture is utilized on the top AND the bottom is one aspect that distinguishes this recipe from others. Depending on how long you bake the crisp, this layer varies, which is great.
The bottom portion of the oat mixture will be slightly caramelized and mushy after 35 minutes of baking at 375°F, while the top will be the ideal crisp perfection.
The bottom oat mixture can be baked for 45 minutes at 375°F to achieve uniform crispness. The top will be darker, but you can add a foil tent to the crisp after 35 minutes if you’d rather it be less dark.
Best Apples to Use in an Apple Crisp
In order to achieve the tang that works well with the buttery topping in an apple crisp, tart apples must be used. My two favorite kind of apples are Granny Smith and Honeycrisp, both of which are crisp and juicy with a honey-sweet and tangy flavor. Here in Minnesota, the Honeycrisp was invented. #proudMinnesotan
It would be best to use one of those apples, but you could also use both. A few members of my extended family enjoy mixing sweet apples (like Golden Delicious) with sour apples. Although we did appreciate this version when we tasted it, the leftovers did not reheat as well as the version with all tart apples. (We didn’t like how mushier they were)
After being peeled and sliced, the apples in this recipe should yield 10 cups. Depending on the size, I found this to be somewhere between 7-9 apples. I like to peel and cut my apples just before serving this recipe because I want them to be as crisp as possible. And whatever you do, make sure to peel the fruit!
Want to Make This into an Apple Crumble?
There used to be a more obvious difference between Crisps and Crumbles. Typically, crumbles lacked oats; instead, they were a delicious concoction of flour, sugar, butter, and perhaps even nuts like walnuts or pecans. Today, the distinction between crumbles and crisps is very hazy, and the terms are frequently used interchangeably. No one would be the wiser if you simply added nuts to this recipe and called it the Best Apple Crumble.
Apple Crisp
PREP TIME20 MINS
COOK TIME45 MINS
TOTAL TIME1 HR 5 MINS
Once you try this recipe you will never want another! Perfection in every bite!
Ingredients
Apple Mixture
- ▢10 cups Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and sliced
- ▢1 cup (200g) brown sugar
- ▢1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ▢1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Crisp Mixture
- ▢2 cups (180g) quick-cooking oats
- ▢2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- ▢2 cups (400g) packed brown sugar
- ▢1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- ▢1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- ▢2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ▢1 cup (2 sticks, 226g) Challenge Butter cubed while cold
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare a 9×13 pan with baking spray or coating with butter.
Apple Mixture
- Place sliced apples in a bowl. Add brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Stir gently and make sure every piece of apple is covered in the sugar mixture. Set aside.
Crisp Mixture
- Oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon should all be combined. Using your hands, mix the cubed butter after adding it. The butter should be completely coated and the size of a pea. Six cups should be consumed.
- 3 cups should be distributed evenly across the bottom of your prepared pan. Apply pressure with a rubber spatula as you pour the apple mixture over the top. The remainder of the crisp mixture should be poured over the apples before baking uncovered at 375°F for 35 to 45 minutes.
Makes 2 generous servings
INGREDIENTS
Topping:
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup light or dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes and chilled
Filling:
- 3 medium apples
- 2 tablespoons water
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the topping:
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse meal. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.
Make the filling and bake the apple crisp:
- The oven should be preheated to 375 degrees with a rack in the center of the oven.
- The apples should be peeled, cored, and sliced in half lengthwise. Slice each half into 12″-thick pieces lengthwise.
- Two tiny cast iron skillets or ramekins should each contain an equal number of apple slices. Each serving should have a tablespoon of water added.
- Without pressing down, distribute the topping over the apples in a uniform layer.
- Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the topping is golden and the apples are soft to the touch when pierced with a knife. Place on a wire rack and let cool for ten minutes. If preferred, top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream while serving.