Easy Apple Crisp Recipe from Grandma - These Old Cookbooks (2024)

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Explore this recipe for our Grandma’s easy apple crisp. These tips will help you make the best apple crisp you’ve ever had.

We are sharing a simple recipe for traditional apple crisp without oats and a melt-in-your-mouth topping that screams cinnamon and butter. Your family will be begging for you to make this over and over again.

Easy Apple Crisp Recipe from Grandma - These Old Cookbooks (2)

Table of Contents

Apple Crisp Without Oats Recipe

How do you make apple crisp from scratch?

Follow these simple instructions below, and soon your house will be smelling like fall.

Arrange peeled, sliced apples in a baking dish. Combine water and ground cinnamon, and pour over apples in the baking dish. Work together butter, sugar and flour until crumbly. Sprinkle over the sliced apples. Bake in preheated oven until the top is golden brown. The full instructions for old fashioned apple crisp recipe can be found below.

We are in love with this recipe. Barbara found it in Grandma’s Old Wooden Recipe Box (her most prized possession). It really is a unique recipe because it’s apple crisp with no oats and no brown sugar. Instead, the topping is a combination of flour, white sugar, and butter (or margarine). The cinnamon goodness is poured right over the sliced apples in the pan before the topping goes on.

Our Grandma was a phenomenal cook, baker, Grandma, Mom, friend, woman.And, making and eating this recipe reminds us feel the way we felt when we spent time with her.

Grandma also had another easy apple cobbler type dessert in her recipe box. If you like yours with an oat topping, try our Old-Fashioned Apple Crumble recipe.

Old Fashioned Apple Crisp Recipe Ingredients:

  • Apples, peeled and sliced
  • Water
  • Ground Cinnamon
  • Flour
  • Butter (or margarine)
  • Sugar
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Howdo you make apple crisp from scratch

Step By Step Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. Peel and slice apples in a bowl.
  3. Arrange apples in a baking dish; combine water and ground cinnamon and pour over top the apples in the dish.
  4. Work together butter, flour and sugar until a pea-sized crumbs forms using two forks, a pastry blender or even your clean hands.
  5. Sprinkle crumb topping over apples.
  6. Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes or until golden brown crisp topping on top.

Full recipe for homemade apple crisp without brown sugar is at the bottom of this page.

Recipe FAQs

  • You can use a metal 9 x 9 or 8 x 8 inch pan or go old fashioned and use a 1 1/2 or 2 quart Pyrex or Corning Ware dish. Any of those will work. Just watch the cooking time. This delicious apple crisp will cook faster in a larger pan because it’s spread thinner.
  • Grandma says margarine can be used instead of butter.
  • To make the crumbly topping for this old fashioned apple crisp, use two forks, a pastry blender or even your clean hands. Work it until it resembles course crumbs.
  • Love apple crisps without oats? Try this Minnesota Apple Crisp recipe.
  • This recipe inspired us to make a divine cherry version. Try it! A peach version would be good too. Here is a Blueberry Brown Betty recipe that’s similar to a blueberry crisp.
  • Should you should peel your apples first before making this crisp? Not necessarily. If you are in a hurry, then you could leave the peels on; however, this does change the texture of the crisp. If you have time, go ahead and peel them.
  • Grandma would say to use whatever apples you have on hand for this easy apple crisp recipe. We agree!
  • Try serving it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
  • Check out our Amazon Store for our favorite pantry and kitchen items.
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Try Other Fruit Desserts

Love fruit cobblers, crisps and cakes? Here’s some more of our favorite old fashioned fruit desserts.

Easy Cherry Crisp

Crock Pot Peach Cobbler

Grandma’s Rhubarb Streusel Dessert

Peach Batter Cake

Grandma’s Rhubarb Pie

Our Favorite Apple Recipes

We love cooking with apples…especially baking with this versatile fruit. Here are some of our favorite apple recipes:

  • Old-Fashioned Apple Slab Pie
  • Minnesota Apple Crisp
  • Caramel Apple Crisp Bars
  • Cinnamon Stewed Apples
  • Red Hot Cinnamon Apples

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Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Grandma’s Easy Apple Crisp

Grandma's Easy Apple Crisp recipe is a traditional, old fashioned apple crisp without oats. The melt-in-your-mouth topping screams cinnamon and butter and will have your family begging for more.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple crisp without oats, Easy Apple Crisp, grandma’s easy apple crisp

Servings: 8

Calories: 239kcal

Author: Barbara

Ingredients

  • 4 cups peeled and sliced apples
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 9 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

  • Arrange peeled and sliced apples in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

  • Combine water and cinnamon, and pour over apple slices.

  • Work together flour, sugar and butter until it becomes crumbly.

  • Sprinkle mixture over apples.

  • Bake until golden brown, approximately 35-40 minutes.

Notes

  • You can use a metal 9 x 9 or 8 x 8 inch pan or go old fashioned and use a 1 1/2 or 2 quart Pyrex or Corning Ware dish. Any of those will work. Just watch the cooking time. This delicious apple crisp will cook faster in a larger pan because it’s spread thinner.
  • Grandma says margarine can be used instead of butter.
  • To make the crumbly topping for this old fashioned apple crisp, use two forks, a pastry blender or even your clean hands. Work it until it resembles course crumbs.
  • This recipe inspired us to make a divine cherry version. Try it! A peach version would be good too.
  • Should you should peel your apples first before making this crisp? Not necessarily. If you are in a hurry, then you could leave the peels on; however, this does change the texture of the crisp. If you have time, go ahead and peel them.
  • Grandma would say to use whatever apples you have on hand for this easy apple crisp recipe. We agree!
  • Carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information can vary greatly depending on products used. The information below is auto-calculated and should not be used for specific dietary needs.

Nutrition

Calories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 340mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 279IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg

Easy Apple Crisp Recipe from Grandma - These Old Cookbooks (15)

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Easy Apple Crisp Recipe from Grandma - These Old Cookbooks (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep apples from getting mushy in apple crisp? ›

How do you keep Apple crisp from getting soggy? You need enough butter in your topping, try both melted or cold cut into the dry ingredients. Also, there needs to be enough texture to keep it from just flattening into the fruit below.

What's the difference between apple crumble and apple crisp? ›

Like an apple crisp, an apple crumble is a baked fruit dessert with a layer of topping. But unlike the crisp, the crumble topping rarely includes oats or nuts. Instead, a crumble's topping is more like streusel, made with flour, sugar and butter.

What are the best apples to use for apple crisp? ›

What Makes A Good Apple For Apple Crisp? The best apples for baking keep their structure under heat, which prevents the chunks of fruit from turning into mush after baking. The firm and crisp Granny Smith and Honeycrisp varieties are popular apples to use in apple pies and apple crisps.

Why do you put lemon juice over the apples when making an apple crisp? ›

The lemon juice will keep the apples from turning brown. Set your prepared apple crisp aside on the counter until ready to bake. Put the apple crisp in the oven to bake just as you are serving dinner. And by the time dinner is over, this warm syrupy dessert will be ready.

How do you thicken apple crisp filling? ›

Adding cornstarch and flour to the apple mixture will help bring your crisp's filling together. You want to make sure you have a nice balance of the sweet and tart in your dessert.

Why didn't my apple crisp get crispy? ›

Why is Apple Crisp not crispy? Don't forget to evenly distribute the butter with the topping. That melted butter helps crisp everything up on top for the perfect texture and flavor!

Should I refrigerate apple crisp? ›

Does Apple Crisp Need to be Refrigerated? Though not required, I recommend that this apple crisp be refrigerated after it bakes and cools. This will keep it fresh longer and prevent it from spoiling.

How do you know when an apple crisp is done? ›

Bake the apple crisp until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown and crisp, about 45 minutes. Serve the crisps warm with vanilla bean ice cream or fresh whipped cream, if desired.

Why is it called Brown Betty? ›

In the Original Picayune Creole Cook Book (1901) a recipe identical to the Brown Betty traveled under the name “Mulatto's Pudding” furthering the idea that the sweet-sounding Brown Betty was more a race-based epithet towards its maker than a homey moniker denoting golden-brown bread crumbs.

How do you make Martha Stewart apple crumble? ›

In a large bowl, toss together apples, granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; transfer to prepared dish. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter with brown sugar until fluffy. Mix in 1 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt until large pieces form. Scatter over filling.

How many apples for 6 cups? ›

If the recipe calls for 6 cups of sliced apples, you'll likely need about 8 medium-sized apples, or about 2 pounds of medium-sized apples. Now go fill your home with the scents of the season and bake the day away.

How many apples are 4 cups? ›

If a recipe calls for one cup of peeled and chopped apples, for example, the size of your dice and fineness of your cuts will affect how you convert from pounds. Generally speaking, one pound of roughly chopped apples yields four cups.

How do you keep apple crisp crispy? ›

Cool. Allow your hot apple crisp to cool completely by setting the whole baking pan on a wire rack. Allow it to cool for 2-3 hours to room temperature. If you store it too soon, the extra heat and moisture will cause it to get soggy.

Can you prep apple crisp the night before? ›

You can make this the evening before or the morning of the day you plan to serve it. Take it through step 4 and then cover the apples and streusel topping with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until ready to bake. Then just remove the plastic wrap and bake. Always pick a mix of firm apples.

Why are the apples mushy in my apple pie? ›

When apples are cooked, this pectin breaks down, and the apples turn mushy. However, there are ways to control this pectin breakdown, helping you to ensure that your apple slices are tender, but still hold their shape in the pie.

How to keep apples firm in apple pie? ›

Simple. Gently precook the apples, which drains them of liquid and shrinks their bulk. They'll shrink no more once they're added to the pie, which means there'll be no gap between the filling and the top crust. But don't toss out that liquid!

What makes apples mushy in an apple pie? ›

Cooking Time: The longer you bake the pie, the softer the apples will become. If you prefer your apples to have some crunch, bake the pie for a shorter time. If you like them softer, bake longer. Apple Variety: Different apple varieties have different textures when cooked.

How do you keep apples crispy? ›

Store Apples In The Fridge

Once rinsed and dried, your apples simply need a trip to the fridge to maintain maximum crispness for as much as two months, though some may start to brown at six weeks. Leaving them on the counter will only give them a shelf life of a few days.

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