Old Fashioned Apple Crisp

If you’re looking for a warm, cinnamon, caramel apple tasting crisp that’s like an Autumn hug, then this is for you! I’ve sweetened this crisp with granulated regular sugar and brown sugar. The brown sugar is what is giving this crisp the caramel flavor. The buttery sugar crumble topping has the perfect amount of sweet and crisp to top the caramel apple cinnamon filling. Be sure to read the recipe in it’s entirety before starting.

I call this Old Fashioned because I use Transparent Apples like my grandma and mom always used. They are perfect for baking. They are tart and soft so they bake quick. If you don’t have access to an apple tree that bears Transparents, then Granny Smiths would be the best. The cooking time will have to be adjusted to bake longer because Granny Smiths are crisp and not as soft as Transparents. I bet your neighbor, mom, grandma, or church friend, have a Transparent tree. Ask around. My mom has a tree so she brings me big bags of Transparent apples every season. Happy Dance!!!

You can always drizzle caramel over the top. My family and I love it with a big ol’ scoop of vanilla ice cream. My kids say this recipe is “Fire” which is slang for amazing I’m told 😉

Old Fashioned Apple Crisp

Warm, cinnamon, caramel apple tasting crisp that's like an Autumn hug, then this is for you. Brown sugar is what will give the crisp a deep caramel flavor. The topping has the perfect amount of sweet and crisp to top the caramel apple cinnamon filling.

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Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  

Filling

• 6 Cups tart apples Transparent Apples work best
• 3/4 Cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon ground
• 1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp corn starch

Topping

• 1/2 Cup melted unsalted butter can use salted sweet cream butter and omit salt
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 3/4 Cup granulated sugar
• 1 Cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 Cup quick oats

Instructions

 

Filling

• Peel and thinly slice apples. About 1/4 inch thick. Put them in a medium sized bowl. Add in all filling ingredients: both sugars, cinnamon, flour and corn starch. Stir and let the juices start to work. Set aside.

Topping

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Add in salt and stir so it dissolves. Add in sugar, flour and oats and stir. The topping will be crumbly and thick. Add an extra Tbsp of flour if it's pasty. We are going to make patties out of the crumble as well as sprinkle it on top.
• Spray a 8 by 8 glass pan or casserole dish with non-stick spray. Stir filling and add it into the dish.
• take 3/4 of the topping, form 8 to 9 biscuit sized flat patties. You should have 1/4 of the topping reserved to sprinkle in the spots that need some extra topping. Place the patties around the dish evenly. There will be small empty spots, that's where the reserved 1/4 of the topping comes in. Sprinkle that over the filling until you cant see apples. It's okay if you have any gaps with no crumble, the juices will bubble up more through gaps. Try to have as little of open space as you can. See pictures of finished crisp.
• Put on the middle rack and bake for about 20 minutes. The apples will cook quick. The topping will be a beautiful medium brown and the juices from the filling will bubble up. Add more time if the apples are hard when you insert a fork for testing. For Granny Smith apples, you will need to add 10 to 15 minutes and may need to loosely cover the dish with tin foil to prevent extra browning of the topping.

Notes

For Granny Smith apples, you will need to add 10 to 15 minutes and may need to loosely cover the dish with tin foil to prevent extra browning of the topping. You can use salted sweet cream butter and omit salt in the topping. The patties of topping will create a thick beautiful top of the crisp. It helps seal in the steam from apples, and keeps down any bubbling deliciousness from ruining the crumble topping. I don't like it when the crumble sinks or gets over bubbled. Try this technique, you'll love it.