Old Fashioned Apple Crisp Recipe
Published January 20, 2023. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This delicious old-fashioned apple crisp recipe is easy-to-make and topped off with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce for the ultimate crowd-pleasing dessert. You will love the simplicity of this tasty treat.
If baking is your thing, then you must check out my Best Blondies Recipe and Classic Cheesecake Recipe.
Apple Crisp
Apple crisp is a simple dessert of apples topped with a crumbly, sweet pastry mixture, like a streusel, baked until brown and crisp. Isabel Ely Lord created the earliest written record of this recipe in 1924 in the Everybody’s Cookbook. However, it didn’t become popularized until WWII when pastry products like sugar, butter, and flour were rationed. The more elaborate apple pie was out, and the apple crisp was in.
This dessert is incredibly versatile and can be altered to your liking. For example, you can add different nuts to the crumble topping. You can also use an assortment of your favorite apples. Regardless, this is a very simple to make crowd-pleasing dessert.
What’s the Difference Between Apple Crisp and Apple Crumble?
These two desserts are very similar. The only difference is that an apple crumble typically does not have oats or nuts in the topping. Other than that, they are the same.
Ingredients
- Apples – I like to use a combination of granny smith apples and fuji apples. You can, however, use 1 breed of apples.
- Flour – You will need some regular all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Salt – I always use sea salt in my baking and cooking.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter, so you control the salt content.
- Oats – Old-fashioned rolled oats are what you will need.
- Nuts – I used finely chopped walnuts, but you can also use pecans or almonds.
- Sugar – Packed light brown sugar adds the best sweetness to this recipe.
- Cinnamon – A little cinnamon goes a long way to enhance the flavor of this dessert.
- Nutmeg – freshly ground nutmeg will add the right amount of savory.
- Liquor – I used dark rum, but regular rum, brandy, or calvados will also work.
What are the Best Apples to Use?
You can use an assortment of apples to create this apple crisp. Here are my favorites in order of sourness to sweetness:
- Granny Smith
- Pink Lady
- Braeburn
- Honey Crisp
- Golden Delicious
- Gala
- Fuji
How to Make an Apple Crisp
Start making the oat streusel topping by combining flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.
Next, cut in the butter using a pastry knife until the butter is blended into the mixture and is the size of cous cous.
Fold in the finely chopped nuts using a rubber spatula. Place the mixture in the freezer.
Peel, slice in half, core, slice in half again, and thickly slice the apples. They should be about a ½” inch thick.
Place the apples in a large bowl with flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg, and rum.
Thoroughly mix the ingredients until they are well combined.
Transfer the apples to a deep 12”x8” or regular 13”x9” baking casserole dish. You do not need to grease the dish ahead of time.
Evenly sprinkle the chilled oat streusel over the top of the apples.
Pat the streusel down to even it out, and then bake the apple crisp at 350° for 45 to 55 minutes. The top should be lightly browned, and the edges should have some caramelization. In addition, the apples should be tender. You also do not want to cover it with foil so the top can brown up.
Once it’s done baking, serve a scoop of it with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
Make Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this up to 1 hour ahead of time. After baking, cover it in foil and keep it in the oven at low temperatures (200°) until you are ready to serve it.
How to Store: Once cool, cover it and keep it in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days. You can freeze this apple crisp by covering it and keeping it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of apple crisp to a small casserole dish and bake it in the oven at 350° for 12 to 15 minutes or until hot.
Chef Notes + Tips
- My apple crisp recipe has a thick oat streusel topping because I believe this adds a lot more flavor to the recipe.
- When it’s done baking, the apple crisp apples will be tender, but still slightly firm. You do not want them to be mush.
- I always add my baking recipes to the lower middle section of the oven.
- If you’re making this recipe ahead of time, keep the apples submerged in pineapple juice for up to 2 days in the refrigerator to keep them from turning brown.
More Dessert Recipes
Video
Old Fashioned Apple Crisp Recipe
Ingredients
For the Crisp Topping:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup oats
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 stick butter
- ½ cup walnuts
For the Filling:
- 4 granny smith apples
- 4 Fuji apples
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Start making the oat streusel topping by combining flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.
- Next, cut in the butter using a pastry knife until the butter is blended into the mixture and is the size of cous cous.
- Fold in the finely chopped nuts using a rubber spatula. Place the mixture in the freezer to keep the butter ice cold.
- Peel, slice in half, core, slice in half again, and thickly slice the apples. They should be about a ½” inch thick.
- Place the apples in a large bowl with the flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg, and rum.
- Thoroughly mix the ingredients until they are well combined.
- Transfer the apples to a deep 12”x8”” or regular 13”x9” baking casserole dish. You do not need to grease the dish ahead of time.
- Evenly sprinkle the chilled oat streusel over the top of the apples.
- Pat the streusel down to even it out, and then bake the apple crisp at 350° for 45 to 55 minutes. The top should be lightly browned, and the edges should have some caramelization. In addition, the apples should be tender. You also do not want to cover it with foil so the top can brown up.
- Once it’s done baking, serve a scoop of it with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
I used half of the apple base with honey crisp & Granny Smith apples. Added cardamom and some cut up Werthers caramels to it. Used the full topping recipe in a 9×9 pan. It was TO DIE FOR delicious! Thank you Chef Billy! I LOVE ALL OF YOUR RECIPES! BTW I’m from St. Louis also!!
Is there something with the similar flavor notes as the rum that would works? Can’t justify buying a bottle of liquor that we won’t drink, but was hoping for a substitute. Thanks
Just skip it
Thank you Chef Parisi for another great recipe! Made three of these using windfall apples, kept one, delivered the other two to a neighbor and a friend. They loved it topped with fresh whipped cream and asked for the recipe! I served mine with salted caramel ice cream! My Oh My!!!
Best ever! I have tried many different apple crisp recipes and this one beats them all.
excellent!
Had company for dinner,made this quick dessert, fabulous! Nothing but raves!Thank you chef@
my pleasure!
Delicious and easy to make
thanks for giving it a shot!!
Easy recipe. Delicious results.
Simply delicious! I made it for a Easter and it a hit with my family. I followed the recipe exactly, so simple with big flavors. This will be on my Mother’s Day brunch menu.
Thanks for giving it a shot!!
Omg, this was so delicious! I made a half recipe be aide there were only 3 of us and it wasn’t enough! We totally pigged out! Thank you Chef for sharing your techniques and recipes! We are a very close family and all 7 of our grandchildren have always cooked with me from a very young age. My oldest grandson, 18, STILL looks for recipes and comes over and cooks with me. You are helping us make memories which is awesome because I’m on a
The lung transplant list.
thanks for giving it a shot!!
Simple and ooohhhh so good. A homerun with my family.
Awesome!
My mom’s favorite. Her differences: pecans instead of walnuts; lemon instead of pineapple to keep apples from getting brown; margarine instead of butter; no rum. I do it mostly your way. Either way it’s good.
So good!!
I made this apple crisp and it was so delicious and worth the extra time. My family was definitely happy! Served with some vanilla ice cream (not homemade). Yum
Awesome
This was a winner! The only thing different I made was I used all Fuji apples. Love it!
excellent
Easy and delicious!
Great
Love this I have made it several times so far.
Awesome!
As always wonderful
fantastic
This is absolutely delicious! I have a Cuisinart Ice Cream maker, so we made the ice cream also. Thank you for this recipe!
Fantastic!
Just made it, this was delicious right out of the oven with vanilla ice cream. Great easy recipe!
Amazing
The BEST apple crisp recipe! I am surprising my family that is visiting tomorrow night for dessert. It’s my husbands and my favorite!
Thank you so much. Glad everyone liked it.
So easy and delicious! Thank you!
Delicious!!!
The best apple crisp recipe I have tried. As always, thank you Chef!
Easy and delicious! A family favorite!!!
Made this and it was fantastic! I made some homemade vanilla ice cream and they were delicious together. Thanks, Chef!
Excellent recipe as always Chef Billy 👍
Superb results because he explains every step so well! I feel as if I’m learning technique as well as great recipes!
Without a doubt the best apple crisp ever. So delicious.
Absolutely delicious! Wondering if this would be good with pears???
What is the measurement for a stick of butter?
8 tbsp
Made your apple crisp recipe today. It was absolutely delicious!!! My grandkids had seconds. Not overly sweet either. Served with vanilla ice cream.
Billy, love your recipes! The addition of rum to the apple crisp was genius ! Thanks for sharing!