Easy Apple Crisp - Recipe Diaries (2024)

FAQs

Why is my apple crisp not crunchy? ›

Why is Apple Crisp not crispy? Don't forget to evenly distribute the butter with the topping. That melted butter helps crisp everything up on top for the perfect texture and flavor!

Like an apple crisp, an apple crumble is a baked fruit dessert with a layer of topping. But unlike the crisp, the crumble topping rarely includes oats or nuts. Instead, a crumble's topping is more like streusel, made with flour, sugar and butter.

What Makes A Good Apple For Apple Crisp? The best apples for baking keep their structure under heat, which prevents the chunks of fruit from turning into mush after baking. The firm and crisp Granny Smith and Honeycrisp varieties are popular apples to use in apple pies and apple crisps.

Adding cornstarch and flour to the apple mixture will help bring your crisp's filling together. You want to make sure you have a nice balance of the sweet and tart in your dessert. Taste your apples for sweetness before adding sugar to your filling.

A pastry chef friend shared the technique. Instead of sprinkling the raw crumbs on top of the fruit, where they absorb the juices and turn a little mushy on their undersides, he spread them out in a pan and baked them separately, until crisp and cookielike.

If you use more butter than the recipe calls for, the crumb topping will be melted and greasy. If you don't use enough butter it will be dry and floury.

Bake the apple crisp until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown and crisp, about 45 minutes. Serve the crisps warm with vanilla bean ice cream or fresh whipped cream, if desired.

Both are very similar apple desserts, but the difference mainly comes down to the crumble topping: Instead of the flour and oat mixture used in an apple crisp, an apple brown betty uses breadcrumbs for its crumbly, delicious topping.

This has led some historians to believe that Betty was the name of the cook and creator of the recipe and that brown was in reference to her skin color.

About 3/4 of an average sliced or cubed apple equates to a single cup. However, it really depends on the size of your apple and how you'll be cutting it.

Why is my apple crisp topping dry? ›

Not enough butter, and your topping will be a dry, floury mess. Too much butter and your topping will become a greasy blob or disappointingly soggy. Some recipes will ask you to cut in cold butter along with your dry ingredients, resulting in pea-size pieces that are sprinkled across the hot fruit filling.

As mellow as sweet apples come, Gala apples are known for their sweet, vanilla aroma and soft bite. Bittersweet and soft fleshed, the Red Delicious is a classic apple with mild crispiness. The Golden Delicious sits at the bottom of the crunch list with soft skin and mellow, yellow apple flavors.

Picking the wrong apples

Softer apples like Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, or Macintosh break down too much in the heat of the oven, basically turning into applesauce. So avoid those, and opt for a variety that's firm and crisp like Granny Smith, Fuji, Gala, or Honeycrisp.

Rolled or quick oats- You can make my best apple crisp with rolled oats or quick oats! I used rolled oats and it took about 40 minutes to bake. If you use quick oats, it'll likely take closer to 35 minutes to cook! Flour- Flour helps to create the perfect topping and bind it all together.

The lemon juice will keep the apples from turning brown. Set your prepared apple crisp aside on the counter until ready to bake. Put the apple crisp in the oven to bake just as you are serving dinner. And by the time dinner is over, this warm syrupy dessert will be ready.

Finally just let them chill in the oven. Once you have baked them until they are dry and leathery feeling, turn off the oven and crack open the oven door. Let them cool in there. This will result in the crunchiest of crunchy apple chips, getting every last drop of moisture out, without the risk of burning them.

Unripe or overripe apples may have a soft or mealy texture. When an apple is mature, its cells are fully developed and filled with moisture, contributing to its crisp texture. This ideal moisture level is best achieved with refrigeration to extend the apple's crunchy texture.

Not enough butter, and your topping will be a dry, floury mess. Too much butter and your topping will become a greasy blob or disappointingly soggy. Some recipes will ask you to cut in cold butter along with your dry ingredients, resulting in pea-size pieces that are sprinkled across the hot fruit filling.