Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp with Oat Crumble

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Hazel came back from the orchard with a basket of apples on each arm and one more in her mouth. She set the baskets down, took the apple out and said, “Crisp day.”

Gerzsi thought she meant the weather. It was a cold, bright morning, so that made sense. Then she handed him the peeler, and he understood.

While he peeled, Hazel rubbed butter into flour and oats with her quick little paws until the bowl looked like damp sand. “Half of this goes on the bottom,” she said. “Most people only put it on top, and then the bottom is just soft apple. We are not most people.”

The kitchen went dark. Clyde had pushed his whole head through the window. He did not say good morning. He looked at the baskets for a long time. “Those are very good apples,” he said at last. “I could check one for you.”

Hazel gave him the cores. Clyde crunched them slowly, like a judge, and he stayed at the window until the dish came out of the oven with syrup bubbling up at the edges.

Why this one works

The oat crumble goes under the apples as well as on top, so every spoonful has some crunch. The apples bake in a thin vanilla syrup thickened with cornstarch, which keeps the filling glossy instead of dry. Oats and plenty of brown sugar keep the topping crisp rather than cakey.

Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp with Oat Crumble

Servings: 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 65 minutes
Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
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Chopped apples baked in a light vanilla syrup between two layers of brown sugar oat crumble.

Ingredients

1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (70 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup (210 g) packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (113 g) butter, softened, plus a little for the dish
4 cups (about 500 g) peeled, chopped apples (about 4 medium apples)
1 cup (200 g) sugar
2 tablespoons (16 g) cornstarch
1 cup (240 ml) water
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Directions

Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) square pan or a 2 1/2-quart (2.4 L) baking dish.
Start with the syrup so it is ready when you need it. Stir the sugar and cornstarch together in a small saucepan, then whisk in the water until there are no lumps. Set the pan over medium heat and keep stirring. Once it boils, give it about 2 minutes more, until it turns thick and clear. Take it off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Peel and core the apples, then cut them into bite-size pieces, about 1/2 inch (1 cm).
For the crumble, mix the flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the soft butter and work it in with your fingertips or a pastry blender. Stop when it looks like damp sand with a few pea-size clumps.
Tip half of the crumble into the dish and press it down into an even base. Spread the apples over it.
Pour the warm syrup over the apples so it reaches every corner. Scatter the rest of the crumble loosely on top. Do not press this layer.
Bake for 60 to 65 minutes. It is done when the top is deep golden, the syrup bubbles around the edges and a knife slides into the apples with no resistance.
Let it sit for 15 minutes so the syrup can settle. Spoon it out warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you like.

Firm apples such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp or Braeburn keep their shape in the long bake. Softer apples turn to sauce.
Put a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any syrup that bubbles over.
Leftovers keep, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days. Warm them at 350°F (175°C) for 10 to 15 minutes to bring back the crunch.

How Chef Tamás makes it

Chef Tamás (a real head chef, 25 years in professional kitchens) answered our questions about this crisp. He skips the cooked syrup and lets the apples bake in their own juice. He puts lemon juice or lemon zest on the apples, and he rubs cold butter into the crumble, not soft butter.

At the restaurant he bakes it in one big hotel pan (a GN pan).

🧰 Tools we use

A Y-shaped peeler. See the Kuhn Rikon Swiss peeler (ATK winner) on Amazon
An apple corer and slicer.
A chef’s knife. See the Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8″ chef’s knife on Amazon
A glass or ceramic baking dish, or a metal pan. See the Pyrex Easy Grab 3-qt dish (ATK winner) on Amazon
A food processor for the crumble. See the Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup (ATK winner) on Amazon

Tamás didn’t name brands for this one. The linked models are America’s Test Kitchen’s picks for the same jobs.

💡 Chef Tamás’s tricks

Add a pinch of salt to the crumble.
Start baking it covered, then uncover it at the end to brown the top.
Let it rest after baking before you serve it.
The mistakes he sees most: soft apples that turn to mush, a crisp that is too sweet, and too little crumble or a layer that is too thick.
To serve: vanilla ice cream, as in the recipe. Quince or plums go well next to the apples, and walnuts on top.

🛒 Worth buying for this recipe

Kuhn Rikon Original Swiss Peeler. America’s Test Kitchen’s best overall Y-peeler. It is light and sharp, which helps when you have four apples to get through. Dry it after washing, because the carbon-steel blade can rust. About $9. See it on Amazon
Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8″ Chef’s Knife. The chef’s knife on ATK’s list of editors’ top kitchen tools. Good for cutting cored apples into even pieces so they cook at the same pace. Check price. See it on Amazon
Pyrex Easy Grab 3-Quart Oblong Baking Dish. The winner of America’s Test Kitchen’s glass baking dish test. Big handles make a hot, bubbling dish easier to lift. About $17 at the time of their test. See it on Amazon
Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup Food Processor. ATK’s winning food processor. A few pulses cut cold butter into the crumble without warming it in your hands. About $230 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon

Adapted from Apple Crisp on Taste of Home. Cooked our way at the inn. Chef Tamás’s notes are his own.