Homemade Apple Crisp

This Homemade Apple Crisp is made with a tasty base of sliced Honeycrisp apples combined with sugar and spices that are topped with the most delicious crumbly crisp ever - flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter - then it's all baked to perfection! Top with vanilla ice cream and dig right in!

Instructions

Add apples, lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt to a large bowl.

Toss gently with your hands to coat the apples evenly in the mixture. 

Dump apples into the greased baking dish.

Add flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, cubed butter, and salt to a medium bowl.

Use your hands, a fork, or a pastry cutter to combine ingredients and gently break butter up into pea-size pieces as you mix everything together. 

Spread topping in an even layer across the apples.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the apples are fork-tender and the crisp is a dark golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Types of Apples

• My favorite apples for this recipe (and just in life) are Honeycrisp!
• But a few other types of apples that work well for apple crisp are:
  • Granny Smith
  • Pink Lady
  • Braeburn
  • Cortland
  • Fuji
• Basically, you're looking for an apple with a crisp texture that will stand up to the process of baking in the oven. You don't want to end up with applesauce underneath that delicious crisp crust, so make sure you use a firm, fresh apple for an award-winning apple crisp!
• Bon Appetit has a great post that explains in detail how to choose the right apple for baking.

Peeled vs. Unpeeled

• I can't even explain to you how much I loathe peeling fruits or veggies. I don't peel my potatoes for baked fries. I don't peel my carrots for curry carrot soup, either. And in this apple crisp recipe, it really doesn't make a difference if you peel the apples or not. So I don't!
• I like the added texture of the skin and prefer to save time and hassle and leave the skin on. I also like the little peek of red that shows through the crumble topping.
• I don't mind a baked apple skin, but if you're not feeling it, go ahead and peel your apples!

Cast Iron Skillet

• I like to bake this old fashioned apple crisp in my 9 inch cast iron skillet. However, an 8x8 inch or 9x9 inch baking dish will work just fine as well.
• You could also double the recipe if you're feeding a crowd and bake it in a 9x13 pan. Just take note that you'll likely need to increase the baking time by 5-10 minutes to account for more food.

Toppings

• Ice Cream is a must. Vanilla is a classic choice but anything with caramel swirls or chunks would also be delish.
• A caramel drizzle is always welcomed as well. I like this Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel best for this apple crisp.
• Whipped cream is another cool, creamy addition that will contrast the warm apple crisp very well.
• Heavy cream is a more non-traditional option, but don't knock it till you try it! My mother in law serves her apple crisp with a splash of heavy cream and it's amaaaazing.

Whatever you choose to top it with, something cold and creamy really compliments the warm, cinnamon-flavored apples and the crunch of the crisp topping.

Baking Tips

One of the hardest things with baking can be deciding when something is done.

• For this apple crisp, you are looking for the apples to be fork tender, but NOT mushy. The best way to test the apple texture is to stick your fork into the crisp and pull a slice of apple out. LET IT COOL for a minute - it will be SUPER hot - and then give it a try.
• You want the crumble on top to be a golden brown but not burned. The butter will melt into the topping and create a pretty solid layer of crisp when it's done.
• Everyone's oven bakes differently so just keep an eye on your apple crisp and use your best judgment! Also, an oven thermometer is a great way to check and see if the temperature you are setting your oven for is the actual temperature of the inside of your oven. You might be surprised how off your oven temp really is!

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This recipe was originally published in November of 2018. It was updated in June 2020 to include process shots, step-by-step instructions and tips for making the best apple crisp every single time!