Caramel Apple Crisp

Tart apples are tossed in caramel sauce and baked under a layer of buttery crumble in this caramel apple crisp. It’s the perfect easy way to throw together your apple harvest into a low-key dessert.

I’m currently drowning in apple season and loving every minute of it. They’re so versatile and make my house smell incredible while they’re baking.

Caramel apple crisp is my favourite easy way to get my apple dessert fix. You literally throw everything together into a bowl and bake it off. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. All that matters is that you have a warm, comforting bowl of soft, caramelized apples with a crunchy granola topping under that scoop of ice cream that you should always, always serve it with.

The best apples for an apple crisp

You’ll want to choose crisp and tart apples for your apple crisp so that they still have some bite to them after being baked. The apples will get sweeter as they bake so starting with a tart apple balances out the sweetness from the other ingredients and maintains that true apple flavour.

I’m personally loving Honeycrisp apples for both eating and baking but any of these apple varieties will work best:

• Granny Smith
• Honeycrisp
• Braeburn
• Pink Lady

How to make caramel apple crisp

1. Make the caramel sauce: Make one batch of my easy homemade caramel sauce. You can use store-bought caramel sauce too but I promise homemade always better.
2. Prepare the apples: Slice your apples and add them to a deep baking dish. Coat apples in lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, vanilla, and caramel sauce.
3. Make the oat streusel topping: Crumble together flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and butter. Sprinkle the chunks of crumble in an even layer on top of the apples.
4. Bake until golden brown: Bake your caramel apple crisp at 350F for 40-45 minutes. Serve while warm with a big scoop of ice cream.

Why you’ll love this caramel apple crisp

• It’s so easy to make. No special tools needed. And honestly, all you need to eat it is a spoon. Dig in!!
• It’s no fuss. Just throw everything into a baking dish.
• It makes your house smell incredible.
• The caramel adds another dimension to the apples.

How to make caramel apple crisp ahead of time

This apple crisp is totally freezable. Instead of baking it right away, just wrap with several layers of plastic wrap and put the entire baking dish in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. When you’re ready to eat it, put the baking dish straight into a 350F oven and bake for a full hour.

Another way to make this ahead of time is simply to make the caramel sauce and crumble topping a few days before. Both keep in the fridge very well for up to a week. When you’re ready to make your apple crisp, it takes no time at all slicing the apples and putting everything together.

Other delicious apple recipes

• Spiced Apple Cake with Salted Maple Caramel
• Apple Frangipane Tart
• Cranberry Apple Mojito

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