Easy Old-Fashioned Honey Apple Crisp

By Rebecca St. Clair

This easy honey apple crisp is full of warm spice, soft sweet apples, fragrant honey, and a deliciously crisp and crunchy golden crust. A perfect quick and easy dessert that comes together in no time!

This easy comfort food dessert is full of old-fashioned charm and is the perfect way to use up those apples in the fall. This warm and cozy apple recipe is perfect to serve for any festive meal, or just a cozy night at home.

What type of apples are best for apple crisp

This is a question that I often see about cooked apple recipes. There are so many varieties of apples, but which ones are the best for cooking.

Typically you want an apple that holds it’s shape and can stand up to heat without turning into apple sauce. I always find that using a variety of apples is best for baking because you get more complex flavours and texture to the apple filling.

These are popular apples for apple crisp:

• Granny Smith– These apples are tart and quite firm. They do well in baking because they tend to hold their shape. They are one of the most popular apple varieties for baking and should be no problem to find at your local store or market.
• Fuji– These apples are much sweeter than granny smith, but they still have a bit of tartness to them. They hold up well in baking and are also a very popular variety.
• Honeycrisp– The characteristics of this variety are spelled out in the name. Sweet but crisp enough to hold their shape while baking. And with honey in the name, you know they will be perfect for a honey apple crisp!
• Gala– This is one of the best apples to eat raw or cook with. It has deliciously sweet smooth flavour. One of the most popular at the grocery store.
• Cortland– Another great crisp and sweet-tart apple. These are popular apples to eat fresh, bake, or cook with.
• Empire– Another sweet and tart apple. This flavour profile lends itself well to eating fresh, baking, or cooking with.
• Your family’s favourite – This will always be the best choice!
• Mixture– When I bake with apples, I love to make the recipes with a mixture of different types of apples. Some tart and some sweet, I like the variety and complexity of flavours it lends to the apple crisp.

How to store a honey apple crisp

When apple season is here and my kitchen is filled with an abundance of fresh apples, I try to make as many recipes as possible to save and enjoy later. So, how to store this honey apple crisp for optimal freshness.

At room temperature

Since this fruit crisp isn’t made with creams, meringues, or anything that needs to be refrigerated, it is safe to store this dessert covered on the counter for up to 2 days.

Fridge

To store your honey apple crisp in the fridge

• Allow the dessert to cool to room temperature
• Cover or place in an airtight container
• Store in the fridge for up to 5 days

Freezer

Apple crisp freezes extremely well and is a great make-ahead dessert. To store this honey apple crisp in the freezer,

• Allow the desert to cool to room temperature
• Cover completely in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container
• Store in the freezer for up to 3 months

My apple crisp is too watery

This is by far the biggest pie problem home cooks encounter. The watery apple crisp that just wont hold together.

To ensure you do not run into this problem, you can do 4 things.

1. Cook the apples down on the stove top first. This will let the apples release some of their liquid before going into the casserole dish, and will allow some of this liquid to evaporate.
2. Add cornstarch. Cornstarch is a great thickener. When it mixes with the juice released from the apples, it turns it into a thick sauce. (If you do not have cornstarch, you can replace it with flour)
3. Place a ¼ cup of rolled oats, in the bottom of the casserole dish. The oats will soak up some of the moisture from the apples.
4. Let the crisp cool. Honey apple crisp will thicken as it cools.

What to serve with Honey apple crisp

The crisp and crumbly oatmeal crisp topping in this recipe makes it a perfect stand alone dessert.

Apple crisp with ice cream. A Warm slice of pie and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream melting down through the crisp crumbly topping and into the sweet warm filling is the perfect decadent dessert!

Apple crisp with whipped cream. A generous dollop of whipped cream on top mellows out the flavours and is a classic pairing.

Apple crisp and cheese. This may seem like a strange choice to some people but many swear by this classic sweet and salty combination.

Simple Vanilla glaze. To make this easy vanilla drizzle, mix together 2 cups (260 g) icing sugar, 1 Tablespoon 15 ml) unsalted butter, softened, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla, 2 Tablespoons (30 ml)warm water, pinch of salt.

Can I turn my honey apple crisp into a pie?

Absolutely! The filling in this recipe is perfect for a classic apple pie. Use either homemade or store bought pie dough. The crumbly crisp topping from this recipe is the perfect topping for any apple pie.

How to make an Old-Fashioned Honey Apple Crisp

Ingredients

4 ½ cups apples peeled, cored, and thinly sliced 6-8 apples

½ cup honey 150 g

2 Tablespoons lemon juice 30 ml

2 Tablespoons water 30 ml

½ cup brown sugar 100 g

½ cup all-purpose flour 75 g

2 teaspoons cinnamon 10 ml

½ cup quick oats 50 g

3 Tablespoons melted butter 45 ml

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 °F (190 °C)
2. Wash, peel, and core apples. Slice thinly.
3. Arrange apples into a casserole dish and drizzle on top, honey, water, and lemon juice.
4. In a bowl mix together the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and oats.
5. Add in 3 Tablespoons melted butter and stir until you have a moist crumbly mixture.
6. Sprinkle evenly on top of the apples.
7. Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is golden and the apples are tender.

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