I know it is not apple crisp season, but here in Seattle, it is. We have had a few days of summer so far, but today we have fast forwarded to fall. I am seriously starting to worry that it may not break out of the 70s this summer. I am trying to find the good in this, and cooking and baking is all I can find, besides all the money we are saving by not watering outside. When the weather is like this, all I want to do is stay home and create yummy treats in the kitchen.
Apple crisp is one of my husband’s favorite desserts. I didn’t make this one completely dairy free, but I didn’t use too much butter, so it seemed to be fine. I actually found some dairy free earth balance sticks today at Whole Foods, that I am excited to try – I will let you know what I think. So, I saw a recipe in Bon Appetit for an Apple Pie with Oat Streusel – but in order to cut down on the amount of butter, I decided to just make an apple crisp with the oat streusel – and boy was it amazing. There was so much topping, it really didn’t need a crust at all. I had a bunch of apples already in the house, so I used quite the variety – and it definitely worked – the apples were a nice caramel flavor, and the topping perfectly crisp. The girls and I had some with whipped cream, but it definitely didn’t need it. A perfect dessert for a not so summer day…
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 pounds Pippin apples or Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into scant 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- Generous pinch of salt
Topping
- 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
Preparation
Toss all ingredients in large bowl. Let stand while preparing topping.
Topping
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix together first 6 ingredients. Add butter, using your hands until the mixture is crumbly. Add oats. Transfer filling to a greased 9×9 baking dish. Sprinkle topping evenly over.
Bake crisp until topping is golden, about 40 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples are tender when pierced with small sharp knife and filling is bubbling, covering pie loosely with foil if topping and crust are browning too quickly, about 30 hour longer. Serve warm or at room temperature.
For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Apple Crisp with Oat Streusel
First Look, Then Cook 
Looks amazingly awesome, Dawn! Seeing as how the heat index is over 100° here today, I might file this one away for September. Sorry about your weather, but I’m glad the baking is helping you get through the cool summer.
I don’t think I can wait until fall to try this. I love apple crisp and the topping on this one looks amazing!!!
Thanks Kristy!!
Was thinking of this topped with ice cream…
I’m in Seattle, too, and wondering when summer will hit. Baking is a terrific way to appreciate the cooler temps! I’ve used Earth Balance sticks in baking when I need to be dairy free and they work well. Lovely apple crisp!