Apple Crisp

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Fall is the best season. Don’t even try to argue with me. Sure, summer has it’s good points but ultimately it gets too hot for me to be able to enjoy it adequately. Fall convinces all of the bugs to go back to their homes and leave us alone. Plus it’s cool enough that we don’t need air conditioning but still warm enough that we don’t need to turn the heat on. Being the cheap person that I am, I get some real satisfaction from that! In addition to that, it’s apple season. What girl doesn’t love to go pick some apples and turn them into all kinds of goodies. Just the smell of a freshly baked loaf of apple bread or apple coffee cake will have me swooning. Another favorite that I love to bake, and smell for hours, is apple crisp.

Quick Oats or Old Fashioned Oats?

You’ll see below that the ingredients call for quick oats. If you look through the wide array of apple crisp recipes you will see that there are many varieties and they flip back and forth between old fashioned and quick oats. The reason that this recipe calls for quick oats is because I prefer them. If I’m the one making the recipe I’m going to give you exactly what I prefer. However, if you prefer old fashioned oats- USE THEM! The best thing you can do for yourself is learn to make recipes the way that you prefer them. Don’t make it my way just because it’s what I like. 

Type of Apples

For my apple crisp I prefer to use Empire apples. Now, there is a lot of room here to do what you want. See the paragraph above. I’ve used all kinds of apples to make apple crisp in the past. Seriously, I’ve used granny smith apples to make it and I still enjoyed it. However, if you are looking to make the best apple crisp and looking for the very best flavor- empire apples are a great way to go. Not looking for a debate here, I’m just simply telling you what we’ve found across the time of making apple crisps. Please feel free to use whatever apple variety your little heart desires. 

Apple Ingredients

• 6 apples
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 4 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 3 Tbsp butter (melted)

Topping Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 ½ cup quick oats
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg

Apple Crisp Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375.
• Prepare the apple mixture:
• Peel, core, and slice the apples into halves or quarters.
• Add remaining ingredients and mix.
• Pour the mixture into a 9×13 pan.
• Prepare the topping:
• Melt the cup of butter. 
• Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Spread the topping on the apple mixture in the pan. It should be a decent layer. 
• Bake for 30-45 minutes until the topping is golden brown.

Tips & Tricks

If you are making this in any sort of volume- buy the KitchenAid attachment for peeling/coring/slicing. It makes the process go so darn quickly. I made 3 batches of this in about 45 minutes. Yes, you can do it all by hand or you can use the little countertop version but I’m all about ease of use. Apple season comes at the end of canning season when I’m so darn exhausted from preserving the harvest for two months straight that I could practically fall over at any time. For that reason alone, I rely on my attachment. 

You can totally use any sort of oil or shortening in place of the butter. One of my favorite things to order from Azure is the palm fruit shortening. It has a lot of flavor and provides a good oil for baking. I’ve utilized it several times in this recipe and we’ve absolutely loved it. The other thing that I love to use is coconut oil. It adds even more extra sweetness and works perfectly in this recipe.

Freezing Apple Crisp

Freezing these apple crisps is actually really easy and something that we love to do. It’s nice to have them on hand in the winter for a quick treat, to be able to give to others, or to be able to pull out if we have company. To freeze them follow all of the steps except for baking. Do not preheat your oven and do not bake. Easy peasy!

You can divide this in half or in quarters to make smaller pans for freezing. We prefer to do them in 8×8 pans or 3×4. The 8×8 pans are perfect for giving away and the 3x4s are perfect for a treat for just my husband and I.

In Summary: Apple Crisp

I love the smell of baked apple goods so much I try to replicate it in my diffuser during the entire fall season. It’s such a wonderful scent and makes our home feel warmer somehow. Having these apple crisps frozen allows us to have a bit of fall with us all year round and the added bonus is that whenever we bake them our house smells incredible. I feel confident that this apple crisp will be a great addition to your menu this fall.

What is your favorite diffuser combination? We’d love to hear about them in the comments! 

No surprise here, I love a good apple pie blend. To replicate use: 4 drops of cinnamon bark, 2 drops bergamot, 2 drops grapefruit, and 2 drops lemongrass. Enjoy!