Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp

Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp has sweet, cinnamon-spiced apple filling with crunchy brown sugar and oat topping. This crisp is best served with caramel ice cream!

This apple dessert is perfect during fall, just like my Apple Crumb Cake or my Caramel Apple Cheesecake.

Fruit crisps or crumbles are one of the easiest desserts you can make. They are also delicious and even better when served with creamy ice cream. If you are not a fan of making an apple pie but want that saucy, sweet apple filling in a dessert, this Apple Crisp is just that! You can make it easily in 3 steps and even prep it ahead of time. You can store the oats topping in a freezer and use when you are craving a warm and sweet crisp.

Ingredients:

• apples (golden delicious, gala or Granny Smith)
• granulated sugar
• lemon juice
• cinnamon
• ground cloves
• cornstarch
• old-fashioned oats
• all-purpose flour
• butter

How to make Apple Crisp?

You can make this dessert in three simple steps: the filling, the topping and assembling to bake. It will have a saucy apple layer and crispy oat topping.

• In a large bowl, combine apple slices with lemon juice, granulated sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch.
• Toss together and spread in a buttered baking dish.

• In a bowl, whisk topping ingredients.
• Melt butter and let it cool. It should not be hot!
• Combine butter with topping mixture and mix with a fork until crumbles form.
• Spread over apple layer.

• Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake for 15 minutes, then remove foil and bake until top is golden brown and the crisp is bubbling.

Can I make it ahead of time?

You can prepare the filling and the topping and store them separately until baking. The topping will soften as it cools and sits in the fridge. You can even prepare the topping, place in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Top over any fruit filling and bake!

Expert tips:

• slice or chop apples into uniform pieces
• add cornstarch to apple mixture; this will create a saucy apple filling.
• melt the butter first, then cool until no longer hot; it will make the best crisp topping ever!

Variations:

• gluten-free: since oats and cornstarch are already gluten-free, all you need to do is sub the flour. You can use almond flour or make your own from oats.
• dairy-free: skip the butter and use coconut oil
• multi-fruit: add frozen berries to apples or use pears, peaches, plums, etc.
• canned pie filling: go the easiest route and use ready-made pie filling.

Serving

Two words: caramel ice cream. We all know that apple crisp or crumbles, as well as apple pies, are the best served with creamy ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce. Next time, try serving it with caramel ice cream. It's a whole new level of deliciousness.

What apples should I use?

The most recommended are firmer apples because they don't fall apart into mush during baking. I used a mix of Golden Delicious and Granny Smith. If you are using softer apples, cut down the baking time by ⅓.

More fall dessert recipes:

• Cinnamon Apple Cake
• Apple Pie Bars
• Pumpkin Pie Bars
• Pumpkin Lush Dessert
• Apple Oatmeal Cookies
• Apple Pie Filling
• Apple Dump Cake from scratch

For more recipes like this one, feel free to browse our Dessert category.

If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀