Apple Cranberry Crisp
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This apple cranberry crisp is an easy dessert for Fall! This recipe is made with chopped apples, tart cranberries, and topped with an brown sugar cinnamon crumble topping. This cranberry apple crisp is ready to be baked in less than 30 minutes.
It’s officially September that means it’s officially Fall in my world. And that means it’s time to bring on all the Fall apple recipes. From a homemade apple pie, to puff pastry apple turnovers, and a now a twist on the classic apple crisp – this apple cranberry crisp.
I know a lot of people LOVE summer. And that’s great. But Fall reigns supreme in my world. With cozy sweaters, pumpkin lattes, changing leaves, and all the baking for the holidays. Yes bring on Fall!
Now after perfecting the classic, I got the idea of combining tart cranberries and apples together. I loved them in my pear cranberry pie, so I knew that tart cranberries and sweet, crunchy apples together would be a winning combination. I just can’t resist the combination of tart cranberries and sweet apples together. I think after one bite you will agree the tartness of the cranberries perfectly balances the sweetness of the rest of the dessert.
All you will want to do is when you make this recipe, make sure you have a gallon of vanilla ice cream to serve with this dessert!
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Fresh Or Frozen Cranberries?
For this apple cranberry crisp you can use fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries which is what I love about this dessert the most. I can’t always find fresh cranberries, but always have much better luck finding frozen cranberries. Fresh cranberries I can only find right near Thanksgiving time, but I love baking with cranberries sooner than that!
And the best part is you don’t need to thaw the frozen cranberries first for this crisp making it come together so quick.
Why You Will Love This Cranberry Apple Crisp
- Quick Prep Time– This cranberry apple crisp is easy to mix up and get in the oven, and you can make it in just one bowl. This recipe takes about 20 minutes or so to prepare and throw in the oven.
- No Fancy Tools Needed – I love homey desserts like this one, that don’t require me busting out my stand mixer. And since this apple cranberry crisp topping uses melted butter instead of cold butter, you simply need to just stir the ingredients together for the oat streusel.
- Simple Holiday Dessert – Of course you can make this any time, but when apples and cranberries are in season is when this easy apple dessert shines! This apple cranberry dessert uses wonderful in season apples in the Fall time making for a simple holiday dessert that will be at its peak of freshness and flavor.
- Perfect Make Ahead Dessert – You can prepare this cranberry apple dessert the day before and then refrigerate before baking. And then bake the next day when ready to serve!
What Apples Are Best For Apple Crisp?
Unfortunately not all apples are made for baking. Granny Smith is the most traditional and go to apple used in baking and you can’t go wrong using them.
Other great options are Honeycrisp, Jona Gold, Golden Delicious, or Pink Lady – all great options. I love mixing in a couple Cortland apples too. They are softer, sweeter and pair well with a more tart apple.
I do NOT recommend a Red Delicious (not much flavor) or a MacIntosh which do not hold up well during baking and can turn very mushy.
Do I need to peel the apples?
That’s up to you! I prefer to peel them because I don’t like the texture of the skin in the finished baked dessert, but if you don’t want to peel them you can skip this step. This will change the texture overall but make it much faster to come together.
I skipped peeling the apples for my healthy apple crisp recipe, for example, to make it more nutritious so it’s a definitely a preference you can choose!
Ingredients Needed
- All Purpose Flour – Regular all-purpose flour will be used in the filling and also in the oat topping.
- Rolled oats – I prefer old-fashioned rolled oats because they are bigger and provide a better texture. But quick oats can also be used, but the crumble topping may be a bit more powdery.
- Light brown sugar – I used light brown sugar but dark brown sugar will also work.
- Granulated sugar – You will use granulated sugar this for both the crumble topping and fruit mixture.
- Ground Cinnamon
- Salt
- Apples – You can use Granny Smith, honeycrisp apples (my two personal favorites) -they are tart and hold up during baking. Cortland, Pink Lady, and Jona Gold are three more great varieties.
- Cranberries – You can fresh or frozen. And if you’re using frozen cranberries, you don’t need to thaw them first simply stir the cranberries in.
- Unsalted butter – I bake with unsalted butter instead of salted butter so I can control the amount of salt and prefer the flavor. But if you use salted butter, simply omit the added salt.
How To Make This Apple Cranberry Crisp
Prep oven and pan. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 8×8” baking dish.
Make filling. In a large bowl combine the cranberries and apples together.
Stir in the all purpose flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice in bowl until fruit is evenly coated.
Then go ahead and spread the fruit mixture into a lightly greased 8×8 square baking pan. I used a 8×8 baking pan, but you can also use a 9×9 baking pan. Or you can double the recipe and make in a 9×13 baking pan.
I then just wipe out the mixing bowl with a paper towel and use the same bowl for the topping making this a super easy dessert to make!
Make the crumble topping. In the same large bowl combine together the flour, old fashioned oats, sugar, ground cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Add butter. Stir in the melted butter until mixture is thoroughly moistened and crumbly. I love using melted butter for this streusel topping it comes together super quickly!
Sprinkle topping on top of fruit. Crumble topping over cranberry apple mixture evenly. Make sure to spread the topping out so it covers all the fruit.
Bake. Bake at 375oF for about 35-40 minutes until top is golden brown and fruit is tender. Cool slightly before enjoying. Serve warm whipped cream, ice cream, or just as is!
Serving Suggestions
Of course you could eat this cranberry apple crisp on its own. Grab a spoon and dig in. Warm is best. Room temperature isn’t so bad either! But who am I to tell you how to eat it? But let’s face it what makes this dessert even better is what you serve on top with it. Here are my go to favorites:
Recipe Tips
- Core, peel, and slice the apples easily. Taking the time to peel the apples, core and slice, is the part that can take the longest for this easy apple crisp recipe. But I recommend using an apple peeler which will do all three at once! Then all I do is simply use a knife and dice them into cubes – such a time saver!
- Cover loosely with foil if topping is getting too dark. I didn’t find this to be needed, but every oven is different. If your oat topping is browning too much, just place some foil over the top until the apples are tender and the crisp is baked through.
Recipe Variations
The best part about when you make cranberry apple crisp is you can put your own twist it to meet your needs! Try some of these apple crisp recipe variations:
- Gluten Free: Simply swap the flour for your favorite gluten free flour, and be sure to use gluten free oats.
- Nuts: You can stir in 1 cup of chopped walnuts or chopped toasted pecans into the crumble topping.
- Doubling The Recipe: If you have a bigger crowd to feed, simply double the ingredients and then bake in a 9×13 baking dish. You may need to bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.
FAQ’s
This sounds like you underbaked your crisp. You want the topping baked to a golden perfection and the apples should be tender underneath. If it’s dry and crumbly you may have not added enough butter or added too much flour or oats.
It may also depend on your baking dish that you are using. A glass baking dish will take longer to bake than a metal baking dish. If using a glass baking dish, then add on an additional 5 minutes of baking time then a metal baking dish.
You can make this apple crisp with cranberries the day before. Simply assemble the crisp, then cover and refrigerate. Then bake as directed the next day.
Leftover cranberry apple crisp can be stored in the fridge, for up to 5 days, but just be aware that the crisp topping can begin to soften with each day. You can warm the crisp back up in a preheated 350 degrees F oven, for 15 minutes.
This cranberry apple crisp is a great dessert to freeze. Baked and cooled apple cranberry crisp can be frozen for up to 3 months. Then when ready to serve, thaw the apple cranberry crisp overnight in the fridge overnight before serving. You can then warm the crisp back up in the oven before serving.
You can also freeze the crisp unbaked. Simply assemble the crisp and then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge overnight, and then bake as directed.
More Recipes To Try
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Apple Cranberry Crisp Recipe
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 cups apples (about 3 large) peeled, cored, and cut in to ½” thick pieces
- 1 cup cranberries fresh or frozen (no need to thaw)
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- 2 Tablespoons (25 g) granulated white sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
Topping:
- ¾ cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cups (75 g) old-fashioned oats *see note
- ½ cup (107 g) packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (75 g) granulated white sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Prep oven and pan. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease an 8×8” baking dish.
- Make apple cranberry filling. In a large bowl combine the cranberries and apples with the all purpose flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice in bowl until fruit is evenly coated. Spread into pan. Wipe out bowl.
- Make the crumble topping. In the same large bowl combine together the flour, old fashioned oats, sugar, ground cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the melted butter until mixture is thoroughly moistened and crumbly. Crumble topping over cranberry apple mixture evenly.
- Bake. Bake at 375oF for about 35-40 minutes until top is golden brown and fruit is tender and bubbling Cool slightly before enjoying. Serve warm whipped cream, ice cream, or just as is!
Notes
- Make ahead/storage: You can make this crisp the day before. Simply assemble the crisp, then cover and refrigerate. Then bake as directed the next day. Leftover crisp can be stored in the fridge, for up to 5 days, but just be aware that the crisp topping can begin to soften with each day. You can warm the crisp back up in a preheated 350 degrees F oven, for 15 minutes
- Freezing: Baked and cooled crisp can be frozen for up to 3 months. Then when ready to serve, thaw overnight in the fridge before serving. You can then warm the crisp back up in the oven before serving. You can also freeze the crisp unbaked. Simply assemble the crisp and then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge overnight, and then bake as directed.
- Cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen. If using frozen cranberries, there’s no need to thaw.
- Apples: I love baking with Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Golden Delicious, and Cortland apples. I find Red delicious to be bland and mushy, and Macintosh make for too mushy of a filling that doesn’t stand up to baking. You can also combine a couple different apples for best texture and taste. One of my favorite combos is Granny Smith and Cortland for tart sweet, soft and crunchy!
- Old fashioned oats: I prefer old-fashioned rolled oats because they are bigger and provide a better texture. But quick oats can also be used, but the topping may be a bit more powdery.
- Gluten Free: Simply swap the flour for your favorite gluten free flour, and be sure to use gluten free oats.
- Nuts: You can stir in 1 cup of chopped walnuts or pecan into the oat topping.
- Doubling The Recipe: If you have a bigger crowd to feed, simply double the ingredients and then bake in a 9×13 baking dish. You may need to bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.
This is a great alternative to the usual Thanksgiving desserts. I love the combination of apple and cranberries in this recipe.
I love the addition of the cranberries to the apple crisp, the flavors really complimented each other. My family really enjoyed it and asked when I would make it again.
Mmm this dish is giving me fall/winter vibes! I love the warmth of the spices and cranberries. Such a lovely treat for the cooler mornings 🙂
We wanted to make an apple crisp and found this great recipe for apple cranberry crisp. Loved the fruit combination and that topping was delicious!
Now that apples are in season, I made this crisp combining Granny Smith and MacIntosh! It was simply perfect. Thank you for the inspiration.
Love this recipe! I made it yesterday and my whole family loved it! Going to make it again this weekend 😉
This is such an easy dessert to make and love that it has all the flavors of autumn.
Such a tasty dessert and so easy to make. Thanks for a great recipe.
thanks Megane glad you loved it!
I loved the crunchy topping on this apple-cranberry crisp. It tastes so much like fall that I’m feeling super festive even though it’s 100°F where I live, LOL!
I love this quick, easy apple cranberry crisp. It has all the fall flavors and we loved it!