Apple Crisp Recipe

This apple crisp recipe originally appeared on my blogspot blog in November 2011.

Autumn cooking and baking are all about apples, especially here in Georgia, where the weekly CSA box is loaded with luscious organic apples each week. And no October is complete without a trip to the city of Blue Ridge, in the North Georgia mountains, where a visit to Mercier’s Orchards is a must. Each fall, we load up on bags of baking apples and crisp varieties for eating out of hand.

Bowl of Golden Delicious apples — Golden Delicious apples make a tasty apple crisp. I use these apples along with Fuji and Gala apples when baking. Photo by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Always on the agenda for fall baking: double crust apple pie. But given a plethora of apples and a hungry family, a quick apple dessert is often in order. Apple crisp fills the bill. It’s easy on the cook, especially if you have eager helpers who can put together the topping while you peel and slice the fruit. This is a substantial dessert, and I should mention that it’s a first-rate breakfast, too. A spoonful of vanilla yogurt and a cup of strong chai tea alongside can prepare you for whatever the day brings.

Sliced apples coated with lemon juice, cinnamon and sugar in a buttered casserole dish — A stoneware casserole dish is the sturdy vessel you need when making apple crisp for a crowd. Spread butter using the wrapper from the stick, then fill it with sweetened sliced apples. Photo by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Sliced apples with sweet buttery crumbs sprinkled over the top in a casserole dish — Butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt make for a tasty crumbly topping for sliced apples. Photo by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Ingredients:

Topping

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup old-fashioned oats

Filling

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 pounds Fuji, Gala or Golden Delicious apples (or a mix of your favorite pie apples)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly butter a shallow 3 1/2 to 4 quart baking dish.
To make the topping: combine flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt in a food processor and blend until well combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture forms large clumps. You could also make this by crumbling it with your fingers, or using a pastry blender to cut in the fat. Transfer mixture to a bowl and add oats, stirring with a wooden spoon.
To make the filling: whisk together sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Peel, quarter and core apples, then cut into 1/2 inch thick slices. Add apples and lemon juice to the sugar mixture and toss until well combined.
Assemble and bake the crisp: spread apples in buttered baking dish. Crumble topping evenly over the apples. Bake at 375 until topping is golden brown, about one hour. Let cool at room temperature so that tongues and tender lips are spared. Store leftovers in fridge.

A spoon digs into a pan of apple crisp — When you use a mix of apples in this apple crisp recipe, you get more complex flavor and texture in the final dessert. Photo by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Apple crisp served on a plate — Apple crisp is an old-fashioned, crowd-pleasing dessert using the fall season’s best fruit. Photo by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Recipe adapted from the Gourmet Cookbook.

More A Cook and Her Books Recipes

There’s no shortage of sweets on my blog. Give my Fig Skillet Cake a try when you have fresh figs on hand. My Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Biscoff Crust is a winner of a recipe, too.

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Apple Crisp Recipe