This year has been an amazing year for my apple tree. In the past, my poor apple tree hardly yielded a harvest. I would perhaps have 5 or 6 solid tasting apples. The rest were far too tart and soft. However, this year has been fantastic. My apple tree sprung back with such vibrancy that I had to give apples away. There was only so much I could eat.
With that being said, an abundance of apples means the chance to indulge in some sweet apple treats. I previously posted my recipe for a delicious apple cake with a maple butter glaze. And now I present to you an incredibly crunchy and sweet crispy apple crumble.
This may come as a surprise but the old me used to hate apple-based desserts. I just could not stand the thought. I hated apple pie, apple cake, and even apple crumbles. Perhaps it was the texture that put me off. I did not like how the apples felt in my mouth, and I especially did not like how tart they could be. However my crispy apple crumble recipe lives up to its name sake. It is far from soggy and each bite is deliciously crunchy. Drinking game – take a shot of whatever every time I say delicious or crunchy in this post LOL 🙂
DELICIOUS AND CRUNCHY
This recipe is an adaptation of the one from Serious Eats. What I love about the recipe is their use of complex spices and other ingredients to really bring out the flavour of the apples. I think that in the recipe the apples should speak for themselves but the crisp should really enhance the flavour of the recipe!
As I mentioned before, I do not like soggy apples. My recipe ensures that your apples are tender but not mushy. Combined with the crunchy and delicious (are you drunk yet 😉 ) crumble on top, this recipe is the perfect go-to fall dessert. I prefer to serve my apple crumble with vanilla ice cream. When I get the chance, I like to make my own. Needless to say, if you do not know by now, I love love love ice cream. And I absolutely adore making my own. You can check out a few recipes here and here!
Overall, the real key to a perfectly crispy apple crumble stems from the type of crumble you make, and how you cook your apples. My crumble recipe uses crushed pecans, oats and turbinado for that real crunchy effect. I also add a few spices to the crumble so that it is not only crunchy but tasty too! I do not pre-cook the apples but you can if you’d like too (see note below). This recipe is super simple and is sure to be one you’ll use over and over again.
APPLE CRUMBLE RECIPE
Crispy Apple Crumble
This apple crumble recipe is filled to the brim with cinnamon and spices, and a crispy sugary crumble on top.
Ingredients
Crumble Topping
- 3/4 cup quick oats
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup crushed pecans
- 1/2 cup butter (cubed and chilled)
Apples
- 6 small apples, peeled, cored and sliced *
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp bourbon (can substitute cold water instead)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp lemon juice (about 1/2 a squeezed lemon)
- 1 tbsp turbinado sugar
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375F, and set aside a medium baking/casserole dish.
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In a small bowl, combine the quick oats, flour, ginger, cinnamon and brown sugar. Using your hands mix in the cold butter so that the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add in the pecans. You will reserve the 1/4 C turbinado sugar for later.
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In another small bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the apple mixture. Let the apples sit in this marinade for 10 - 15 minutes. You will start to see some juices forming!
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Pour the apples into the baking dish. Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top but do not pat it down. Sprinkle the 1/4 C of turbinado evenly on top of the crumble. Place the apple crumble into the preheated oven and cook for 35-45 minutes or until the crumble mixture on top is nice and brown.
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Let the apple crumble cool a bit before serving. You can keep the apple crumble covered on your counter for up to 2 days. To serve, just re-heat a slice in the microwave and eat it with a scoop or vanilla ice cream or whip cream.
Recipe Notes
*most recipes call for apples that are slightly tart and crisp. I personally think you can use whichever apples you want. However, feel free to experiment with different types of apples to find the one that works best for you. 6 small recipes works to about 3 regular sized apples. The reason I had small apples because it was from my apple tree.
**Feeling adventurous? Try sauteing your sliced apples in some butter and brown sugar before combining it with the other ingredients!
*** Do not have turbinado sugar? No worries. You can use brown sugar instead or muscovado sugar
This apple crumble is an instant classic. I absolutely love how tender the apples are, and the crumble on top is delightfully crunchy and sweet. The best way to serve this crispy apple crumble is with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. The combination of warm, cold, sweet and crunchy are exactly what you’d want in this classic take on an old favourite.
