Julia’s Apple Crisp

Julia’s Apple Crisp is a perfect fall and winter-time dessert! Bright, fresh apples mixed with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to make a delicious filling. Topped with a sweet crispy oat layer to finish this decadent treat! Warm it up and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to make the ultimate comfort dessert! 

Apple Crisp or Apple Crumble? What’s the Difference?

Can you smell it? The temptatious aromas coming from the oven? The smell of baking apples, the alluring fragrances of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. You close your eyes, take a deep breath in through your nose and hold it for a moment. As you exhale, you mumble a gentle groan. The smell is so enticing! You can’t wait to taste that . . . what is it we’re making again? Is it apple crisp, apple crumble . . . it’s apple something.

There are a number of similar baked apple desserts that it can get confusing. So what’s the difference between a crisp and a crumble?

It’s the topping. Here we have the recipe for an Apple Crisp. A crisp is usually topped with rolled oats and brown sugar, and sometimes nuts like almonds. The topping crisps up during the baking process. However, the topping for an Apple Crumble is made with flour, sugar, and butter. It sometimes has other unique ingredients added to it for variety. Once baked it becomes crumbly.

Julia’s Apple Crisp

My wife and I were friends with this lovely older couple year ago. The wife made all these amazing desserts. Unfortunately, they have passed, but the wife showed my wife a few things about making her desserts. Her apple crisp was one of them.

After making a few alterations, my wife’s crisp was perfect. Then we found this apple pie spice at an apple orchard near us, Maskers in Warwick, NY. It’s called Wildwood Apple Pie Seasoning Blend. I have found it online, so you can get it if you want to. But this small blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves replaced all the other spices she would add. So her ‘perfect’ recipe became more perfect (how can you get more perfect than perfect? I don’t know, but she did it, lol).

We would go apple picking, buy some of that apple pie spice, and make a couple dozen crisps. We would then deliver them to some of the elderly friends. Her apple crisps became famous!

Which Apples Are the Best to Use?

Julia always uses 2 or 3 varieties of apples for this apple crisp. Her favorites are McIntosh, Cortland, and Granny Smith. When we can get winesap, we definitely go for those. They have a cider flavor that’s sooooo good! Here are other excellent apple varieties for making this Apple Crisp:

• Honeycrisp
• Golden Delicious
• Jonagold

What Ingredients Are in Julia’s Apple Crisp?

Filling

• Apples – McIntosh & Cortland
• Light Brown Sugar
• Orange Juice
• Table Salt
• Apple Pie Spice, store bought or homemade (see recipe notes)

Topping

• Rolled Oats
• Butter
• White Sugar
• Table Salt
• Apple Pie Spice, store bought or homemade (see recipe notes)

Ingredient Notes

Apple Pie Spice – we would buy this amazing apple pie spice from an orchard near our home in NJ. We still ask our friends to get it for us when we run out. But it’s a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Here is the closest we were able to reproduce ourselves.

• 4 Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

How Is Julia’s Apple Crisp Made?

1. Heat the oven to 375° F. Butter a deep baking dish.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the orange juice, brown sugar, salt, and apple pie spice. Add the apples and stir to completely coat them. Let them rest as you make the topping.
3. Place the butter, sugar, salt, and apple pie spice in a medium mixing bowl. Using a fork or pastry cutter, blend them well.
4. Gradually add in the oats, about 1/2 cup at a time, and mix well until all the oats have been added. The mixture should be crumbly.
5. Pour the apple mixture into the buttered dish. Sprinkle the oat mixture evenly on top.
6. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 1 hour, or until bubbly and the topping begins to brown.
7. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Can I Make This in A Different Pan?

Absolutely! This is very versatile. We use a variety of pans from casserole pans to ramekins for a single serve options. Use what you have available. A 9 inch square pan works great. Just make sure it’s deep enough.

What Can I Do with the Leftovers?

The leftovers will keep up to 7 days in the refrigerator.  Reheat this in the ovenfor the best results. The microwave tends to make the topping, the “Crisp,” soggy.

Can I Freeze the Apple Crisp?

Absolutely! This freezes very well. You can make this ahead of time, freeze it, then bake it according the the same instructions once it’s thawed. Or, you can freeze the leftovers to have at a later time.

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Julia's Apple Crisp

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword apple, apple crisp, apple pie, crisp, dessert, oats

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

Filling

• 8 medium Apples, McIntosh & Cortland, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 1/3 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup Orange Juice
• 1/8 teaspoon Table Salt
• 1 teaspoon Apple Pie Spice, store bought or homemade (see recipe notes)

Topping

• 2 1/2 cups Rolled Oats
• 1 stick Butter, softened
• 1/3 cup White Sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon Table Salt
• 1 teaspoon Apple Pie Spice, store bought or homemade (see recipe notes)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375° F. Butter a deep baking dish.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the orange juice, brown sugar, salt, and apple pie spice. Add the apples and stir to completely coat them. Let them rest as you make the topping.

3. Place the butter, sugar, salt, and apple pie spice in a medium mixing bowl. Using a fork or pastry cutter, blend them well.

4. Gradually add in the oats, about 1/2 cup at a time, and mix well until all the oats have been added. The mixture should be crumbly.

5. Pour the apple mixture into the buttered dish. Sprinkle the oat mixture evenly on top.

6. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 1 hour, or until bubbly and the topping begins to brown.

7. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Recipe Notes

Apple Pie Spice

We used to buy this amazing apple pie spice from an orchard near our home in NJ. We still ask our friends to get it for us when we run out. But it's a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Here is the closest we were able to reproduce ourselves.

• 4 Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

 

Apples

Here are other excellent apple varieties for making this Apple Crisp:

• Honeycrisp
• Golden Delicious
• Granny Smith
• Jonagold