Old Fashioned Apple Crisp

Old Fashioned Apple Crisp is a classic apple dessert where apples are baked underneath a flour, melted butter, sugar and oat crumble topping. It's best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Good old apple crisp - the easy to make dessert recipe that uses up basic pantry staples and a handful of apples. Honestly, I've probably made at least two apple crisps for every year that I've been blogging (that will be 11 years shortly), yet I've never shared this recipe with you.

There is a bit of a debate when it comes to apple crisp - to add oats or not. I've made the recipe both ways and like both of them the same. But I always have oatmeal on hand so I typically add it to my crisp topping for this recipe.

Ingredients for Old Fashioned Apple Crisp

• Apples: Use an apple that's good for baking in a crisp. Apples that are a sweet/tart combination are my go-to. Honeycrisp are my favorite. In this recipe I used Jonathan apples because that's what came in my CSA box.
• All Purpose Flour
• Granulated Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Old Fashioned Oats: don't use quick cooking oats as they won't hold up as well in the crisp topping part of this recipe
• Vanilla Extract
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Nutmeg
• Melted Butter: unsalted butter is what I use in baking recipes because I like to control the amount of salt
• Salt

How to make

• Peel and slice the apples. Add to a bowl and toss with the granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, oats and salt. Then pour in melted butter and stir until no lumps of flour remain.
• Layer the apples in a greased 8x8 baking dish. Spread the crisp mixture on top.
• Bake for 1 hour or until crisp is set and golden brown.

Substitutions for apple crisp

• Butter - applesauce and coconut oil (melted) are good replacements for butter in baked recipes
• Flour - whole wheat flour would probably dry out the crumble too much, but using a 50/50 split of whole wheat and all purpose would work great
• Nutmeg - if you don't have nutmeg, you can skip adding it to this recipe. Cardamom, while not the same, is another great fall flavor that pairs well with apples, if you have that on hand
• Brown Sugar - depending on the sweetness of your apples, you may want to cut back on the sugar. Coconut sugar could be a good replacement. Let me know if you try making it this way!

Apple Crisp FAQ's

• Can apple crisp be left out? / Does apple crisp need to be refrigerated? You don't need to refrigerate an apple crisp. It's good to hang out at room temperature for 3-4 days, but it's best eaten within 1-2 days.
• How do I keep the topping crispy? Reheat your crisp in the oven (350 degrees) for 10-12 minutes and it should crisp right back up.
• Can you freeze an apple crisp? Yes. A disposable foil pan is great for baking and freezing this dish. Cook, cool completely, cover tightly and freeze.
• What kind of oats are used in apple crisp? Old-Fashioned Oats, not the quick cooking kind.

Other Apple Desserts

• easy homemade apple pie
• apple cider baked donuts
• easy apple strudel
• apple pie monkeybread minis

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