Small Apple Crisp—Quick & Easy from 101 Cooking for Two

Name: Small Apple Crisp—Quick & Easy
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 2½ to 3 cups apples (sliced about 2 large or 3 medium); 1 cup flour; 3/4 cup sugar (up to 1 cup depending on sweetness of apples); 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

Recipe Table of Contents

4.49 from 145 votes

Great old-fashioned apple crisp is quick and easy with this classic recipe. A smaller recipe, but it is easily doubled for larger households.

close up of a spice of apple crisp on a white plate

Table of Contents

♨️How to make this recipe
🍎What Apples to Use?
👨‍🍳Adjusting the Size
♨️What are Cobblers, Crumbles, and Crisps?
❓FAQs
📖Crisp/Crumble Recipes
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
📝Full Recipe

Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

Introduction

It was apple season here in Michigan, and we all need easy apple recipes. This classic apple crisp is an old-fashioned favorite. I think of it as almost apple pie, but easier.

A couple of apples, five common pantry ingredients, and less than one hour will get you an old-fashioned apple crisp that would make grandma proud. Use it as your everyday "pass a dish recipe," take it to friends, or make the family smile.

This smaller recipe is based on Allrecipes.com Apple Crisp - Perfect and Easy with a few changes.

♨️How to make this recipe

Prepare apples by cutting into cubes or slices and peeling them if you want.
Prepare the topping with flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon.
Pour apples into a prepared baking pan and top with all the topping.
Bake at 375°until golden brown—about 40 minutes.

🍎What Apples to Use?

Use the apples you have and love. Apples that are firmer and tarter are the best choice here. If you are buying apples just for this recipe, green Granny Smith apples are suggested, but some other good options are Honeycrisp and Ida Red.

I generally have other apples around and use them. The apples I would typically not use would be Red Delicious or Macintosh.

You may want to adjust the sugar for the sweetness of the apples, especially if using tart or very sweet apples.

This recipe will use about 3 cups of sliced apples. It can be a bit more or less. That will be about two large or three medium apples. They can be peeled or not.

If the apples are set after preparation, they can turn brown with oxygenation. Coat with ½ teaspoon of lemon juice will help prevent this.

👨‍🍳Adjusting the Size

This small recipe fits nicely in an 8 by 8 inches baking pan. You can also use a 6 by 9 oblong baking dish or 9 inches round.

This recipe doubles easily and fits nicely in a 9 by 13 standard cake or casserole pan. You can even make it smaller if you have the correct pan.

The nine servings I state for this recipe are a bit arbitrary, so that is a soft number depending on how you want to use this.

♨️What are Cobblers, Crumbles, and Crisps?

Cobblers are easy; they have a biscuit or cake-like topping.

Crumbles and crisps are frequently used interchangeably. But some feel that the differentiating factor is crumbles have oats in the topping, and crisps do not. This seems to be not widely accepted; almost nobody follows that differentiation.

So, in my world, this is a crisp. But call it a crumble if you want.

❓FAQs

Do the apples need to be peeled for apple crisp?

No, it is more of a matter of personal taste. I have always had peeled apples, so you will see that in the images but entirely your option.

How to serve apple crisp.

Like apple pie, a scoop of vanilla ice cream is the traditional topping. But a drizzle of caramel sauce is a good addition.

How to store leftover apple crisp.

After cooking, refrigerate for 3-4 days, covered tightly. Reheat briefly in a microwave.

Apple crisp can freeze for about three months when sealed tightly—I suggest plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. If you freeze it, thaw it before reheating.

Can apple crisp be made gluten-free?

Yes, use gluten-free flour.

📖Crisp/Crumble Recipes

Simple Crock Pot Apple Crisp

Easy Berry Crumble

Berry Crisp for Two

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

101's Best Recipes, Dessert Recipes

🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Peel(optional) and cube or slice 2 ½ to 3 cups of apples. That will be two larger apples or three smaller ones. Avoid Red Delicious and Macintosh apples. Granny Smith apples are commonly recommended.

Prep an 8-inch square baking dish with a butter coat.

In a medium bowl, combine one cup flour with 1 cup sugar but adjust the sugar down to ¾ cup if your apples are very sweet. Add ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix well. Cut 8 tablespoons of cold butter into dry ingredients with a fork or pie crust cutter.

pouring topping onto apples in baking dish

Spread the prepared apples in the dish. Spread topping mixtcre over apples.

goldern brown apple crisp out of the oven

Bake for about 40 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool some before serving.

📝Full Recipe

Small Apple Crisp—Quick & Easy

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

Great old-fashioned apple crisp is quick and easy with this classic recipe. A smaller recipe, but it is easily doubled for larger households.

Tap to leave a Rating

4.49 from 145 votes

Print Collection

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings #/Adjust if desired 9

Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric

▢ 2½ to 3 cups apples - sliced about 2 large or 3 medium
▢ 1 cup flour
▢ ¾ cup sugar - up to 1 cup depending on sweetness of apples
▢ ½ teaspoon cinnamon
▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
▢ 1 stick butter - ½ cup

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°.
Peel(optional) and cube or slice 2 ½ to 3 cups of apples. That will be two larger apples or three smaller ones. Avoid Red Delicious and Macintosh apples. Granny Smith apples are commonly recommended.
Prep an 8-inch square baking dish with a butter coat.
In a medium bowl, combine one cup flour with 1 cup sugar but adjust the sugar down to ¾ cup if your apples are very sweet. Add ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix well. Cut 8 tablespoons of cold butter into dry ingredients with a fork or pie crust cutter.
Spread the prepared apples in the dish. Spread topping mixtcre over apples.
Bake for about 40 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool some before serving.

See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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Recipe Notes

Pro Tips

This fits nicely in an 8x8 pan but 9X6 or 9 inch round will work. A 9x9 will be thinner and not suggested.
This is an easy recipe to adjust up or down. A double recipe fits nicely in a standard 9 by 13 cake or casserole pan.
Use the apples you love, but I suggest not to use Red Delicious or Macintosh. Granny Smith is suggested.
Cut the sugar down to ¾ cup if the apples are very sweet. Brown sugar may be used for a slightly different flavor.
The amount of apple slices can vary up or down some.
A bit of cooling before serving helps it hold together.
Store refrigerated airtight for 3-4 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheats nicely in the microwave.

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Course : Dessert

Cuisine : American

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Publisher Note: Originally Published October 25, 2014, It is a great simple recipe. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.