Apple Crisp

In my family, in Quebec, we make this with more oats and added wheat bran, less sugar and almost all the cinnamon replaced by freshly grated nutmeg. I also put the apples and spices in the oven in a 9 x 13 pyrex while I make the oat topping, so they’re already halfway cooked by the time I’m done. We eat it for breakfast and dessert… and anytime we want… ’cause hey… it’s filled with fruit so it’s good for us ;)

I just made this and it smells amazing!! I reduced the sugar to a 1/2 cup and substituted raw turbinado sugar. I also added a 1/2 cup of chopped almonds to the oatmeal mixture for a little added flavor and protein. Using less sugar and adding the almonds makes it healthy enough for breakfast!
I also left the peels on for added fiber.

My grandma and I made this for Thanksgiving, and it turned out delicious! We ended up added 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon of white sugar into the apple mixture.

Made this recipe for my family’s annual Harvest Party. Since a lot of my family members are sugar sensitive, I used Splenda brown sugar and it was a huge HIT!!

I doubled the recipe but not the butter and also used TWO different kind of apples, cubing one and slicing the other (just to make it different).

I say, good enough for a repeat!!

This apple crisp is delicious! It is best topped off with some vanilla icecream… Great recipe, thank-you!

Thanks for sharing this fabulous recipe! After reading through the comments I decided to add my own special flare…chopped prunes, fresh grated ginger & Tbls of vanilla agave syrup to the apple mixture. My apples were quite tart. Not as simple as the original recipe but excellent results well worth the effort! Yum!

After searching a number of similar recipes, I tried a version of this in combination with some of the other ideas I found and used no butter at all.

For the topping, I just used flour, brown sugar, rolled oats, walnuts, 1 tsp cin, about an 1/8 of nutmeg, pinch of salt and just a a tad of honey.

(I also made a smaller amount of fruit, since I was making individual portions)

I put my mixture in small ramekins (I made an mcintosh/plum mixture with about a tbsp of flour, a sprinkling of corn starch, 1/2 a fresh-squeezed lime juice, some zest….some went in the topping, too….a little brown sugar…just a tad, since I didn’t follow directions and used all the flour/sugar ingredients for the topping).
The first time I made it, I used the juice of a whole lemon – too much.
Second time – just half a lemon for my mixture which went into four small ramekins. Much better.

I put the oat/sugar/flour mixture on top.
I really packed in my fruit, since it cooks down and packed my oat mixture on top.
Again…NO butter.

The first time, I just sprayed my Pam Baking spray on the tops (just a small amount to coat).
I also squeezed a little honey on top, making a very light circular design on top.
I baked for about 25-30 minutes.

The topping came out fully cooked, browned and just the right crunchy consistency.
For those who do not want to use butter, you will not miss it, at all.
If I had any agave nectar on hand, I may have used that instead of the honey. I think either would work just fine. ;)

All the ideas and versions here sound great, including the original.
It’s fun to tweek recipes, depending on what you have in the pantry, and have them come out successfully….the sign of a great starter recipe! :)

I’m a college student and had apples shipped to me from home. This is one of my favorite desserts and with the fall weather coming I wanted it so badly. Whenever i’ve made this with my mom and sisters we actually leave the apples with the peel on them, and i love the crisp part so i double that to make it even crispier…. a bit unhealthy though with the butter.

Of course I came to your site, Elise, to find the most amazing recipe for this. I have Fuji apples and blueberries to use up and thought I’d combine those for your recipe – 1/2 apples, 1/2 blueberries… but maybe I should use less blueberries… not sure. Any reason this would be a bad idea? Your recipe sounds wonderful, and I see a bunch of people have used various fruit. Thanks! :-)

Hi Shirley, well your guess is as good as mine. I wouldn’t normally put blueberries together with apples, but that doesn’t mean it can’t or shouldn’t be done. You won’t know until you try it! ~Elise

Susan, what were the measurements of those ingredients of that hard sauce topping your mothers used?

Was comparing your recipe to the one I have used for about 40 years and it is about the same. I do add a couple of tablespoons of flour to the topping. I think the occasional sogginess of the topping experienced by some, may result from using margarine vs real butter. Always had this in the cafeteria when I was a student. The ladies (our mothers) made a hard sauce to top the crisp. It was simply butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg. Kind of stiff and a spoonful melted over the warm apple crisp was to die for. Will try your version tonight for the super bowl dinner!

I added almond meal and slivered almonds with the oats (as my coworker loves them) and used gala and granny smith apples (because I love them). I also substituted white wine for the lemon juice (since it was all I had and I was baking at midnight). It turned out wonderfully. Having such an adaptable recipe is a real help in the kitchen, so thanks for the great recipe! I’ll use it often. :)