My friend Annie has been planting apple trees in her backyard for years. Every couple of years, she’ll pick a new apple variety and a pollinator buddy to grow with it. In a few years, we’re all enjoying the fruits of her labors with pies, muffins, fresh applesauce, and delicious homemade apple cider.

Last year, the Granny Smith apple trees in Annie’s yard were practically groaning with their crop of apples. She invited us over for a casual “potluck dinner,” which first involved picking lots of apples in the late afternoon. But we’d had this kind of “potluck dinner” before; we knew that her world-class apple crisp was going to be dessert. And with those apples right off her trees, it couldn’t get much fresher than that!

Now, I know some people who get very precise about measuring the ingredients for an apple crisp. But truly, you can use the recipe as a sort of baseline, and work around it. Out of brown sugar? Add a little more white sugar—or use fresh cranberries instead of dried. You don’t have to stick to just one kind of apple, either; just use cooking apples, because they hold up to baking better.

You can experiment a little with the spices, too. Sure, cinnamon and nutmeg are the traditional spices. But you can also make a great apple crisp with ginger, turmeric, and cumin! Want to add a little texture? Try adding dried apricots to the mix.

This is one of my favorite foods to make just because it has so many possibilities. I’m sure you’ll find your perfect combination of ingredients and spices to make Annie’s Apple Crisp your own.

Annie’s Apple Crisp

This is comfort food taken to a delicious new level! Apple crisp is filling and satisfying, and it’s a wonderful way to show off the body and flavor of hearty culinary apples. Some cooks will decide to leave the skins on the apples instead of peeling them; remember, that’s where the antioxidants are, plus a lot of the apple’s vitamin C.

• Author: Norann Oleson
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: Serves 8
• Category: Bakery

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 3 pounds of diced, peeled apples (about 7 cups)
• 3 tablespoons apple juice or cider
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled butter or margarine, cut into small pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Coat an 9×9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Combine flour, oatmeal, sugars, and spices into a bowl. Blend well.
4. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender (or two knives) until the mixture is crumbly.
5. Combine the apples, juice, and (optional) cranberries in another bowl.
6. Once well-mixed, put the apple mixture into the baking dish.
7. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the apples.
8. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
9. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes, until the apples are golden brown.
10. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Have you tried this recipe? It’s an easy casual dessert—please tell us how it turned out for you.