Bake

Sheet-Pan Cranberry Crisp

October 28, 2021
4.7
6 Ratings
Photo by Julia Gartland. Food stylist: Anna Billingskog. Prop stylist: Molly Fitzsimons.
  • Prep time 30 minutes
  • Cook time 40 minutes
  • makes One 18x13-inch crisp
Author Notes

Fruit crisps are typically baked in deep-dish pans, from an 8x8-inch (aka a brownie pan) to a 9x13-inch (aka, in our home, a mac-and-cheese pan). This holiday-ready recipe uses a sheet pan instead. The humble sheet pan adds a lot to the also-humble fruit crisp: The large format is great (fun! dramatic!) for serving a crowd. Plus, the wider surface area means a higher streusel-to-fruit ratio—and who doesn’t want more streusel?

I originally dreamed up this extra-crispy crisp with sweet-tart apples in mind. This year, I applied the same template to puckery cranberries and, well, wow. You can start with fresh ones or frozen (just thaw overnight in the fridge), whatever is easier to find at the nearest supermarket. In the oven, the berries will bubble and simmer into something juicy, jammy, and just perfect for Thanksgiving (or any fall feast really).

To soften the sourness of the cranberries, serve with something creamy—a big scoop of any ice cream (but especially vanilla), buttery crème fraîche, labneh, full-fat Greek yogurt, or heavy cream poured straight from the container. —Emma Laperruque

Test Kitchen Notes

This dish is part of Residentsgiving—aka the Thanksgiving menu of our wildest dreams—created by Food52's resident experts-slash-superheroes. Devour the rest of the spread here, and while you're at it, learn how to Remix & Remaster your Thanksgiving. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Sheet-Pan Cranberry Crisp
Ingredients
  • Cranberry Filling
  • 3 pounds cranberries (fresh or thawed from frozen)
  • 1 1/4 cups (266 grams) light brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Streusel Topping
  • 2 1/2 cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1 2/3 cups (164 grams) rolled (aka old-fashioned) oats
  • 1 1/4 cups (266 grams) light brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 1/4 cups (2½ sticks/283 grams) unsalted butter, cubed, at a cool room temperature
Directions
  1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and cover the rack below with foil (to catch any drips). Heat the oven to 400°F.
  2. Add all of the cranberry filling ingredients to a large bowl and toss with your hands until the sugar starts to dissolve. Spread the mixture into a rimmed 18x13-inch sheet pan.
  3. To make the streusel, combine the flour, oats, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and stir. Add the butter and incorporate by hand, pinching with your fingers, until the mixture resembles wet sand that clumps when squeezed. Evenly distribute the streusel on top of the cranberries, smushing it into clumps along the way.
  4. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the cranberries are bubbling around the edges and the streusel is golden brown.
  5. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • brushjl
    brushjl
  • psimpson
    psimpson
  • Sjvonschmeling
    Sjvonschmeling
Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.

3 Reviews

brushjl April 10, 2023
To cut down the tartness I substituted one pound of cherries for one of the pounds of cranberries. I also used a 13"×9" Pyrex baking dish. It was delicious.
 
psimpson December 26, 2021
I added a little orange zest to the cranberries and some chopped pecans to the crumble topping. This was very good, but a bit too tart for me. I love cranberries, but I felt that it could use more sugar, maybe add 1/4 to 1/2 cup white sugar to the cranberries, Mine were also not quite as juicy as I would have like, so I think next time I will squeeze the juice of one orange over the berries. I love the ratio here of fruit to crumble topping and plan to experiment with a sheet pan pear crisp soon.
 
Sjvonschmeling December 5, 2021
If I made this with gluten free flour will it still be good?