Apple Crisp Recipe (Cozy Fall Dessert)

You asked and I delivered. The single serve apple crisp I posted a few weeks ago got so much love and so many of you immediately asked for a full size version that I moved it straight to the top of the baking list. This is the one. A full eight by eight pan of the most perfectly spiced apple filling topped with the crunchiest, most buttery oat crisp topping that comes out of the oven golden and fragrant and absolutely impossible to wait for before digging in. The fall dessert that makes your whole kitchen smell like the best version of October.

Apple crisp is one of those desserts that sounds simple and is simple and yet somehow always tastes like someone put in a lot of effort. The apple filling is honey crisp apples tossed with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt that draws out the juices and creates this gorgeous caramelized filling as it bakes. Honey crisp is my personal favorite here because they hold their shape beautifully and have that perfect sweet-tart balance that works so well with the warm spices, but Granny Smith is a great swap if you want something with more tartness and a little more structure.

The crisp topping is where this recipe really shines. Rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter mixed together until it clumps into those satisfying uneven pieces that bake into a perfectly golden, crunchy topping that holds up beautifully against the juicy apple filling underneath. Six tablespoons of butter keeps it lighter and golden, eight makes it richer and more indulgent. Both are completely acceptable depending on the kind of fall evening you are having and nobody is judging either choice.

Let it cool for at least ten minutes before you serve it so the apple juices have time to thicken and settle into that perfect saucy filling consistency. Then serve it warm with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream melting into all those crispy oat layers and call it a fall evening well spent. This is the recipe that makes people ask for the dish to take home and it is going on your fall dessert list every single year from here on out.

Apple Crisp

Classic apple crisp baked in an 8×8 pan with a spiced honey crisp apple filling tossed with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, topped with a buttery oat and brown sugar crumble baked until perfectly golden and crunchy. Serves nine, ready in under an hour, and best served warm with vanilla ice cream. The full size version of the beloved single serve recipe.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 9

Ingredients

  

For the Apple Filling:

• 3 medium honey crisp apples Granny Smith also works great, cored, chopped
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• Pinch of salt about ⅛ tsp

For the Crisp Topping:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup light brown sugar or mix light/dark if you like deeper flavor
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of salt about ⅛ tsp
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter melted (up to 8 Tbsp if you like it richer, but 6 keeps it lighter & golden)

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease an 8×8-inch pan.
• Make the filling: In a large bowl, toss chopped apples with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Spread evenly in the pan.
• Make the topping: In another bowl, stir together oats, flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Pour in melted butter and mix until clumps form.
• Assemble: Sprinkle topping evenly over the apples and press down slightly.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes, until apples are tender and topping is golden brown.
• Cool slightly before serving (the juices will thicken as it rests). Serve a la mode with some ice cream and enjoy!

Keyword fall baking