Christmas

Laziest Apple Crisp

September 28, 2018
4.6
5 Ratings
Photo by What We Eat Gals
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 45 minutes
  • Serves 6-8 people
Author Notes

This is the one and only apple crisp recipe you’ll ever need—one you can have in the oven in less than 10 minutes with ingredients you likely already have on hand and make pretty much make with your eyes closed. It’s not far off from a recipe for the “Fruit Crisp or Crumb Pie” by James Beard in his American’s Cookery but with the amount of fruit increased, and the ingredients solidified. Its topping is crisp but with a sticky chew and the the flavor of the dessert is like a caramel apple in crisp form. Served warm with vanilla ice cream, there is no better (or easier) fall dessert. —What We Eat Gals

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Ingredients
  • 7-10 Cortland apples (more if you want it to be more about the fruit, always a good thing; other great baking apples like Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Granny Smith, etc.)
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup AP flour
  • 1 pinch Maldon salt
  • Vanilla ice cream
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Melt the butter over medium low heat in a small saucepan. Turn off the heat and let sit until cool enough to touch.
  3. Meanwhile, if you have time, peel the apples. If not, simply slice them with the skin on into 1-2 inch chunks and place them in a 3-4 qt casserole, gratin or baking dish.
  4. Now that the butter is cool enough to handle, add 1 cup light brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp salt. Use your fingers to massage the ingredients into the butter. Next, add the flour and rub it into the butter/brown sugar/cinnamon/salt mix. Spread the crumble topping over the sliced apples. Sprinkle the whole thing with a pinch of Maldon salt.
  5. Bake in the 400 degree oven for 40-45 minutes until the top is deeply golden and the apples are soft and bubbly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

3 Reviews

Mollie C. October 17, 2020
Excellent and so easy to pull together on a weeknight. I added some cinnamon to the apples because I always do...but this is really just so good.
judy November 14, 2018
This is delicious. I doubled the spices and added anise and mace--my preferences. Unpeeled apples and a spoonful of lemon juice. 1/2 cup EA flour and oats. and because it was a crumble I tossed in some toasted pecan pieces as well. Very nice. My quick version of birthday pie for my hubby who prefers dutch apple. But I am not so good with rust. Thanks for a great recipe to start from.
Katherine October 8, 2018
This was absolutely delicious!!! Super simple and easy to make and such a crowd pleaser. I doubled the crumble & used 6 large apples. Trust me- you can't mess this one up and it is insanely yummy.