I can eat cooked apples entirely on their own. No need for a pie, or an intricate recipe involving ice cream, dough, etc. And cooked apples can be used as topping for ice cream, pancakes, waffles, and yogurt too! Infinite possibilities. Which is why I love this recipe. I cook the apples and then quickly blend all the topping ingredients, bake for a few minutes and I'm ready to devour. Of course, a scoop of ice cream makes it a bit more luxurious.
As for the best apples, my faves are pink lady, gala, honey crisp and granny smith apples, and I like a mix of sweet and tart apples, so I usually choose a pink or red apple, along with granny smith or honey crisp (both on the tart side).
I'm sharing 2 types of crisp toppings in this recipe: Almond crisp and an pecan almond crisp. The pecans add a firmer crunch to the topping and create a tasty cluster, almost like a cobbler or granola topping. And when you're feeling like having just a lighter, more tender topping, go with the almond crisp topping.
You can make the apple filling ahead, and then when you're ready to bake it just add the crisp topping and bake in the oven it in the oven for 10 minutes.
You can also make this in a 10-inch skillet by cooking the apples first and then adding the crisp top and baking it in the oven for 10 minutes. Don't store leftovers in skillet though because it will take on the metallic taste of the iron.
Jennifer Becker says
Such a delicious topping. I loved including the chopped pecans. Thanks!
Erica says
Thanks, Jennifer! So good to hear, glad you tried the pecans 🙂
Jennifer Purses says
Have you tried this as a freezer dish? I would love to have an apple crisp that I can freeze and just pull out and bake on those nights when you need dessert but didn't plan ahead... 😉 If you have any tips or tricks, I'll take 'em. Thanks!
Erica says
Great idea! I haven't tried it, but I bet you can add the apple filling ingredients to a dish, freeze, and then bake it covered for about 15 minutes, then take out, add the topping and bake for 10 minutes. Or, you can bake the apple filling ahead, cool, place the topping on, seal and freeze. Either way I recommend thawing for a bit before baking.
Erica says
Update: If you going to bake the apple filling the dish, you'll need to bake it longer than 15 minutes, closer to 35 minutes or so. I haven't tried this yet, so for now I recommend cooking the filling ahead to save time.