Soft, spiced apples and a crunchy almond and oat topping makes this crumble a total crowd pleasing dessert that works well served up with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

What Is The Difference Between A Crumble And A Crisp?

You may be wondering what is the difference between a crisp and a crumble and that is a fair question, they are incredibly alike.

A crumble is a type of dessert consisting of fruit baked with a crumble topping. The topping is usually made with butter, flour and sugar, with the option to include nuts.

A crisp is also a baked fresh fruit dessert, but the streusel topping is less dense and usually includes oats. The oats will crisp up during baking, while crumble toppings are more cake-y.

What Are The Ingredients For Apple Crisp?

Red apples: For this recipe we used red Gala apples, but truly you can use any kind of fresh apple.

Oats: We find old fashioned rolled oats work best texture wise, but you can use quick oats if it's all you have.

Sugar: You'll need both white and brown sugar for this apple crisp. White is used for the apple mixture and you'll need brown sugar for the topping.

Spices: Cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg give are the magic trio here.

Flour:  A mix of all-purpose flour and oats is the base of the topping.

Butter: To prevent the butter from melting you will need to use ice cold butter, take it right from the refrigerator and cut it into medium sized chunks.

Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps thicken the apple mixture and create a saucy apple filling.

Almond: For a deliciously crunchy, nutty apple crisp.

Lemon juice: Lemon juice helps slow down the browning process of the apples.

Why You'll Love This Apple Crisp Recipe:

Easier than apple pie: Everyone loves apple pie, but a homemade apple pie is a labor of love. If you're looking for something less time consuming with less washing up, this apple crisp swaps pie crust for an oat streusel topping. 

No fuss ingredients: If you like to bake, chances are you'll already have most of the necessary ingredients saving you a dreaded trip to the grocery store!

Short cooling time: As delicious as apple pie is it can be hard to wait for it to cool down first before digging in, especially when that delicious aroma is swirling around your kitchen. Apple crisp is less dense, so you'll be able delve in sooner.

It's delicious of course: Warm gooey apples and a chewy, crunchy sweet topping? This delicious dessert is a cold weather must.

How To Make Apple Crisp:

Prepare the apple mixture: Peel and slice the apples into medium sized chunks. Put them in a casserole dish and mix with lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, sugar and cornstarch.

Prepare the topping: Mix all the dry ingredients minus the chopped almonds. Scatter your cold cubes of butter on top of the mixture and use a fork or your fingers to work until the mixture is crumbly.

Combine the two: Sprinkle the prepared topping evenly over the apples in an even layer and scatter the chopped almond over the top.

And finally, bake! Bake it for 50 to 60 mins until the top is golden brown and the apples are soft. The timing here will depend on the size of your casserole dish.