Apple crisp is hands down the most easy fall dessert you can make this time of year. With a gooey apple base and a brown sugar oat crumble, top it with vanilla ice cream or even yogurt for breakfast!
This apple crisp recipe is simple and straightforward, so this post will be too! Below I will lay out a few simple tips to help you get the perfect apple crisp every time! If you find yourself with leftover apples, this recipe is a great idea to quickly throw together. Most of the ingredients will likely already be in your pantry, making this seriously the most easy fall dessert out there!
Which apples do I choose for apple crisp?
When it comes to baking apples there are so many good choices out there. I always tell people to use their favorite apple. Honeycrisp, gala, granny smith and cortland have all worked extremely well for me! Some of the more tart apples really brighten and balance the recipe so don’t be afraid to use them!
How to get the best consistency for your crumble topping
Keep the butter cold! That’s it! Cold butter, softened butter and melted butter all react differently when they get into the oven. As a general rule of thumb, when you want to keep the structure of your bake (i.e this apple crisp needs to have a crumbly topping, not one that spreads in the oven), make sure your butter is as cold as possible when it goes into the oven! Even if that means popping the apple crisp into the fridge for a few moments before baking.
This apple crisp recipe also uses almond flour for added texture and bite. Therefore this is a really easy recipe to make gluten free. Simply replace the all purpose flour with a one to one gluten free flour substitution and you have a delicious gluten free apple crisp!
Looking for more gluten free recipes? Try my flourless chocolate cake!
A note on substitute tools
A dough blender works best to incorporate the cold butter into the dry ingredients for the brown sugar oat crumble. I don’t own a dough blender so I used a large fork and..my hands! Don’t be afraid to get in there and bring the topping together with your hands. If your hands run warm and start to soften the butter too much, simply pop the crumble topping into the fridge for 10 minutes before adding it to the apples and baking the apple crisp.
Tips for preparing the ingredients ahead of time.
The most time consuming part of making this apple crisp is peeling and chopping the apples. If you want to prep that step ahead of time, just be sure not to add your sugars to the apples until you’re ready to bake. When I prepare ahead I peel and chop my apples, place them in a bowl, seal the top and refrigerate them until I’m ready for them.
If you add your sugars to the apples ahead of time, the apples will release their liquid too early. We want the liquid to release in the oven.The juice, mixed with the cornstarch in the recipe is what creates that gooey consistency while it bakes!
Happy Apply Baking!
Can baking be therapeutic?
I often talk about baking being a therapeutic hobby but I’d like to share more about why I feel that way as well as how it can become a relaxing hobby for you!
When I bake, it’s my creative time. I may put on my favorite nostalgic movie or tv show in the background, or a Spotify playlist titled “French café” and leave my troubles behind.
Sometimes I pour myself a glass of wine and light a candle. Then, with the mood set, the mixing of batter, kneading of dough and smoothing of icing is my only care in the world.
When I say baking is therapeutic, sometimes people respond saying “not for me it isn’t!” I completely understand why someone might feel that way. There have been plenty of times where I spend hours on something only for it to fail or something breaks that shouldn’t or I forget to clean as I go and am left with a disastrous kitchen to clean.
So I should in reality, have a caveat to my “baking as therapy” claims…
Baking is therapy when you curate the experience to be relaxing.
How do you curate that relaxing experience for yourself, you ask?
How to make baking therapeutic…
- Prepare your mind–know that it’s okay if the cake doesn’t rise, or the butter wasn’t chilled enough. Shift your mindset from seeing your failures as mistakes to seeing them as opportunities for learning.
- Prepare your space–I cannot and will not bake on top of a messy kitchen. If I were to do this I would be starting from a place of stress! Take an extra 10 minutes to clean any dishes in the sink and wipe down the counters, this small effort will pay you back greatly in brain space and clarity.
- Clean as you go! I’ll tell you the one way to make baking stressful and tiresome, is to not clean as you go! After I use each ingredient that I no longer need, I put it away.
After each major step in the process, I wipe down the counters and put dishes that are no longer needed in the sink. If there is chill time or baking time I don’t sit, I do the cleaning then. Make this shift and you’ll really notice the difference!
By the way, this last tip really helped me when I was on The Great American Baking Show–and the crew that cleaned up behind us made a point to tell me that my workspace was always so clean they didn’t have much to do!
I would reply by saying “it’s how I stay sane in this tent!”
Additional suggestions:
*Maybe try printing off the recipe instead of looking at it on your phone, tablet or laptop and use this time to unplug from technology for a few hours
**Invite friends or family over to share your creation with you. Time spent with loved ones over food is a universally special experience
And that’s how I discovered baking for my mental health. If you try any of these suggestions, let me know how it went for you! I’m really invested in spreading this message to others in hopes that baking will enhance your lives more than it already does!
Apple Crisp
Ingredients
For the Crumble Topping
- 3/4 cups unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks, cold
- 1 1/2 cups oats
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 2/3 cups light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
Spiced Apples
- 6 apples of choice honeycrisp, gala, granny smith, cortland, etc.
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
Instructions
For the Crumble Topping
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (roughly 190°C).
- To a large bowl add 1 1/2 cups of oats, 3/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1/2 cup of almond flour, 2/3 cup of light brown sugar, 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp of ginger and give everything a good toss.
- Slice 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) of cold unsalted butter into 1 Tbsp sized slices and add them to the bowl of oat mixture.
- Use a dough blender or a large fork to blend the butter into the oat mixture. Mix until the mixture has no dry ingredients at the bottom. It should resemble wet large clumps of sand. Set the mixture in the fridge while you make the apple layer.
Spiced Apples
- Peel and chop six apples and place them in a large bowl.
- To the bowl of apples add 1/4 cup of light brown sugar, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, 2 Tbsp of cornstarch, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of allspice, 1/4 tsp of salt and 1/8 tsp of nutmeg. Toss until the apples are well coated.
For the Assembly
- To a 10" round cake pan (or a 9x13" pan) add the apple layer and then the crumble topping from the fridge in an even layer.
- Bake for 10 minutes on 375°F and then reduce the oven to 350°F (roughly 180°C) and bake for another 40 minutes or until the crumble topping is well browned and the apple layer is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly and definitely serve with your favorite vanilla ice cream!
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