“Help! I just went and picked apples with the kids and we don't have an apple crisp recipe on our site!”
That was the gist of an email I got one recent Saturday afternoon from my colleague Halley, who leads the Web team here at King Arthur.
“That can't be,” I thought. “Apple crisp is the absolute quintessential fall recipe. How could we NOT have it on our site?”
I searched. Halley was right. No apple crisp.
Well, I can remedy that.
We actually have lots of apple crisp recipes floating around King Arthur. There's our Baking Education Center version, perfect for kids' classes: a simple mixture of apples, flour, and sugar, topped with flour, brown sugar, oats, and butter. There's Apple-Raspberry Oat Crumble, and Apple Brown Betty, both in our King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book.
There's Apple (or Raspberry, or Blueberry, or Peach...) Crisp in our King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook. Harking back to a simpler time, this version doesn't even add sugar to the apples, relying solely on the topping for sweetening.
And then there's Apple Crumble, from our Baker's Companion book – my go-to source for anything I can't find on our site.
We wrote that book 6 years ago, but I still turn to it constantly, even with so many recipes here at kingarthurflour.com. I figure, I tested them then; I know they work; why go “outside” when the Mother Lode is right here on my bookshelf?
Admittedly, I can't resist tinkering. That's what creativity is all about, right? So I upped the cinnamon (for added flavor) and the amount of flour (for a more crumbly texture) in the topping. But other than that - it was good to go.
So - let's go!
Apple Pie Spice is a handy spice blend to have around, come apple-picking time. If your recipe calls for, say, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon allspice (or cloves), simply substitute 1 3/4 teaspoons Apple Pie Spice.
WHY am I using good ol' Granny Smiths for this crisp, with all the wonderful pick-your-own Macs, Cortlands, Ginger Golds, Paulareds, et. al. out there at this time of year? Because we photograph these blogs often months in advance; and when I did this one, Grannies were the best choice.
Let's start with 3 pounds of apples.
Lightly grease a 9" x 9" square pan, and preheat the oven to 350°F.
We're going to peel, core, and slice the apples to make about 2 pounds, about 9 cups prepared apples. An apple peeler/corer/slicer makes short work of this. I can peel, core, and slice an apple in just about 10 seconds - no joke! Truly, if you're an apple dessert fan, you should treat yourself to one of these babies.
Here are the apples just as they come out of the peeler. One quick vertical swipe of the knife...
...ahh, beautifully even slices! About 1/4” thick is right. For more “toothsome” crisp (or if you're using Macs, which become quite soft in cooking), cut the slices thicker.
Next, we'll mix the apples with the following:
1/4 cup (57g) rum, apple cider or juice, or the liquor/juice of your choice; or water
1/4 to 3/4 cup (53g to 159g) brown sugar, depending on the sweetness/tartness of your apples
2 tablespoons (28g) butter, melted
2 tablespoons (43g) boiled cider, optional but good
1 1/2 teaspoons Apple Pie Spice, or 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg + 1/4 teaspoon ginger
3 tablespoons (21g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or tapioca flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Stir till everything is thoroughly combined.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan.
Next, the streusel topping. This puts the “crisp” in apple crisp.
Combine the following:
3/4 cup (85g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup (50g) quick-cooking oats
heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (142g) brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Add 8 tablespoons (113g) cold butter, cut into pats.
Work it in till the mixture is crumbly. Add 1/2 cup (57g) diced pecans or walnuts, if you like.
Sprinkle the streusel over the apples.
Set the crisp on a parchment-lined baking sheet (to catch any potential drips), and bake the crisp in a preheated 350°F oven for about 60 minutes.
The cinnamon-y apples will become bubbly, and the streusel will brown.
Remove the crisp from the oven, and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. If you serve it right away, it'll be watery. Ice cream, of course, is always welcome.
Yes, crisp is a wonderful thing - a lovely autumn dessert. And the perfect solution to all those apples you picked!
Read, rate, and review (please!) our recipe for Classic Apple Crisp.
Recipe in this post
Comments
Post A Comment
Blog
September 11, 2023 at 9:27am
My mother's apple crisp recipe is lovely, but really sweet and produces a lot of liquid at the bottom of the pan. I would hesitate to
add fluid to an apple crisp since the apples will release liquid, even with adding a bit of flour in with the apples.
September 11, 2023 at 2:08pm
In reply to My mother's apple crisp… by Jane Jordan (not verified)
Hi Jane, you could always omit the 1/4 cup of liquid called for, but it may be that the high sugar content in your mother's recipe is also contributed to the excess liquid. I would encourage you to try this recipe as is and see how you like it. Apple Crisps are meant to be a bit juicier than a pie, so we don't see this as a flaw!
January 14, 2023 at 3:38pm
Is there a way to convert this to a stovetop-only recipe?
January 17, 2023 at 10:35am
In reply to Is there a way to convert… by Susanna (not verified)
Hi Susanna, unfortunately we do not have a stove top version of apple crisp at this time, but I can certainly pass it along to our test kitchen!
November 5, 2022 at 12:19pm
Can you make this ahead and freeze it? If you can, can you warm it up after it’s defrosted?
November 6, 2022 at 11:14am
In reply to Can you make this ahead and… by Joy Brand (not verified)
Baking and freezing pies and crisps is a great way to save time around the Holidays (and year round), Joy! We suggest once thawed, reheating for about 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven to "crisp" it back up.
October 23, 2022 at 8:00pm
I toss mine in the Sugar/Flour mixture first and as they sit while I assemble the rest of the topping. Ive never had issues with too much liquid. I cut my apples in small more bite sized pieces also
October 13, 2022 at 10:19am
If I don’t use the boiled cider in the filling, do I need to add additional liquid to compensate? Or, could I replace the boiled cider with maple syrup? Thanks!
October 14, 2022 at 5:09pm
In reply to If I don’t use the boiled… by Laura (not verified)
Hi Laura, yes maple syrup would be a nice substitute. Happy Baking!
September 20, 2021 at 1:16am
Check out pgs 310-311 of your 200th anniversary cookbook. Apple crisp, and it does have one cup of brown sugar in the topping but none in the apples. I use that recipe for a fruit crisp using blueberries and peaches together adding some peach flavoring and peach schnapps. I don't add any sugar to the mix. The topping gives it all the sweetness it needs.