The Best Apple Crisp is exactly that, the best, made with double the crisp and filled with spiced apples for the perfect Fall and holiday dessert! Everyone will be asking you for the recipe, for sure! I also have an Apple Dump Cake you can throw together if you find yourself short on time.
The Best Apple Crisp
Are you looking for the BEST Apple Crisp Recipe? One that is full of flavor and perfected over time to be a NO-FAIL recipe? This is it. My secret? DOUBLE the crisp! If you are anything like me, you always think your recipe is the best. I was convinced that the apple crisp I have been making for the last couple of years couldn’t be beaten, but was I ever wrong. I tried this recipe last fall and have made it at least 15 times since. It is perfect every single time!
Ingredients
Apples: It is important to use tart apples in order to get that tang that contrasts well with the buttery topping in an apple crisp. I love using Granny Smith apples because they are crisp, sour, and hold their shape well when baked. You could also try Braeburn, Honeycrisp, or a combination of apples.
Sugar: Most recipes call for all granulated sugar or half granulated and half brown sugar. While these recipes are sweet, they lack the depth of flavor that all brown sugar adds. And after you try this apple crisp, you will definitely understand what I mean. I used light brown sugar, but you can definitely use dark brown sugar as well.
Oats: Look for quick oats to use in the crisp. You could also get away with rolled oats for even more texture.
Butter: I opted for Challenge® butter to use in this recipe. Challenge Butter is made the old-fashioned way, churned fresh daily from the freshest milk and cream from happy cows at family-owned dairies since 1911.
How to Make Homemade Brown Sugar
This recipe uses lots of brown sugar, so if you don’t have any (or enough) on hand, make your own. For light brown sugar add 1-2 tablespoons of molasses to 1 cup of granulated sugar. For dark brown sugar add 3-4 tablespoons to 1 cup of granulated sugar. I like to mix up a big batch in my food processor but you can also mix by hand if you prefer.
Baking the Oat Mixture
One thing that makes this recipe unique is that the oat mixture is used on the top AND the bottom. The amazing thing about this layer is that it changes depending on how long you bake the crisp.
- If you bake at 375°F for 35 minutes, the bottom oat mixture will be slightly caramelized and gooey while the top will be perfectly crispy deliciousness.
- If you bake at 375°F for 45 minutes, the bottom oat mixture will be crispy throughout. The top will be darker, but if you prefer a less dark crispy top you can add a foil tent to the crisp after 35 minutes.
Can I Use a Different Size Pan?
You can. This recipe can be cut in half and made in either a 9×9-inch or 8×8-inch baking dish.
Can I Make this into an Apple Crumble?
Yes! Just add nuts! 🙂 Years ago there was a more notable distinction between Crisps and Crumbles. Usually, crumbles did not include oats; it was a wonderful mixture of flour, sugar, butter, and sometimes even nuts like walnuts or pecans. Today, the lines are very blurry between crisps and crumbles, and the names are actually used interchangeably. However, you could simply add nuts to this recipe and call it the Best Apple Crumble and no one would be the wiser.
How to Store Apple Crisp
Apple crisp is best when it is served warm and then allowed to completely cool to room temperature. After it is cool and you want to store leftovers, cover it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and place it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you want the crisp tp remain crispy when reheating, place individual-sized portions into the air fryer or oven for about 10 minutes.
More Apple Treats
Apple Crisp
Ingredients
Apple Mixture
- 10 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (about 10 cups)
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Crisp Mixture
- 2 cups (180 g) quick oats
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (400 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) Challenge® butter, cold, cubed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking 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
- In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- Add the cubed butter. Using your hands or a fork, mix the butter into the flour mixture until the butter pieces are pea-sized or smaller.
Assembly
- Spread 3 cups of the crisp over the bottom of your prepared pan and press flat. Pour the apple mixture over top and press down with a rubber spatula. Pour the remaining crisp mixture over the tops of the apples.
- Bake, uncovered for 35-45 minutes. The apple crisp is done when the fruit is bubbling and the top is golden brown.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- If you bake at 375°F for 35 minutes, the bottom oat mixture will be slightly caramelized and gooey while the top will be perfect crispy deliciousness.
- If you bake at 375°F for 45 minutes, the bottom oat mixture will be crispy throughout. The top will be darker, but if you prefer a less dark crispy top you can add a foil tent to the crisp after 35 minutes.
Did you make this recipe?
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Thank you for supporting the brands that support us here at iambaker! It has been a dream of mine to partner with Challenge Butter and I am just thrilled to be able to share a product that I love and use!
Have been baking this for the last few years. This year I asked my adult son what he wanted for Christmas and his reply was apple crisp. I told him I meant gift wise he gave me the same answer. For a child who very rarely ate apples as a child he cannot get enough of this.
Oh that warms a mom’s heart. ❤️
Love the idea of crisp on top and bottom. The only charge I made was to use 1/2 Macintosh apples and 1/2 apple crisp since my husband loves sweet. However, next time I’m going to try cutting the flour to one cup since I thought the topping was too dry.
Can you substitute a gluten free flour and which one would work best
…what’s not to luv…
It looks delicious & is somewhat between the Canadian Date Cake recipe & a crumble however I was curious you said that the only real difference between this & a crumble were nuts & oats – my family have never added nuts to a crumble & often used oats or old museli. Remembering dry school crumble, I do add cider or beer to the apple section of a crumble but as the apple is on top, this will be interesting to try – thank you
Can you make this with rhubarb instead of apples?
Wish I was making this recipe for dessert tonight instead of PA Dutch Rice Pudding!
Is it possible to make this with rhubarb?
I will be making the Apple Crisp today.
I’m thinking your ingredient portions are off. I made this recipe exactly as indicated and it was immensely dry. Could barely get any juices at all… would not brown in the time indicated, took an extra half hour. Was not juicy at all and very, very sweet.
HI Marley – did you use the right amount of apples? If you failed to add the correct amount (10 cups) I can see how it could be drier. But if you followed the recipe correctly it is the perfect amounts.
When I’ve made it I have to add extra butter to the oat mix part.