Tender, baked apples meet cranberries in this festive spin on a classic Fall favorite! This Easy cranberry apple crisp is simple, quick, contains minimal ingredients, and can out-preform any apple pie on your Holiday table!
Apple Crisp vs. Apple Pie
I love a good apple pie, especially around the holidays. But I’ll take a warm apple crisp with a side of vanilla ice cream over pie any day! Something about the crispy, toasty, crumbly oat and butter topping just perfectly compliments those tender cinnamon baked apples. And the cranberries tip the scales on this recipe making it the PERFECT addition to your holiday gathering!
Unlike apple pie, apple crisp is perfect for formal and casual gatherings alike. It is an easy, delicious way to put to use your extra apples picked from the orchard on a crisp fall day (pun intended). It doesn’t require any fancy table setting, but it can hang with the best of the Thanksgiving table crew too! Make this apple crisp on a lazy Saturday at home with the family, or put it on your holiday dessert menu for a treat that will have everyone grabbing a spoon!
What’s in the Easy Cranberry Apple Crisp?
- Granny Smith apples
- Cranberries
- White sugar
- Brown sugar
- Oats
- Cinnamon
- Butter
- Flour
8 simple ingredients are all you need to bring this dessert to life!
Can I Use Any Apples?
I recommend Granny Smith apples because the tart flavor nicely compliments the sweetness added to the dish. That being said, any apple variety will work just fine – so use your favorite! Keep in mind, you will add sugar to the apples so you may want to elect a variety that isn’t as naturally sweetened!
How to prepare the Cranberry Apple Crisp?
Here are the simple instructions for preparing this easy cranberry apple crisp!
- Peel, core, and slice apples into 1/4-1/2″ pieces. Too thin and they will get too tender while they bake, but too thick and they won’t quite get there. So, keep the pieces between 1/4-1/2″ thick for optimal texture! Preheat oven to 350.
- Pour apples and cranberries into a greased baking dish – 8×8, 9×9, or a 10″ cast iron skillet will work! sprinkle white sugar and cinnamon over the top of the apples/cranberries and toss together to coat evenly.
- Prepare the oat crumble in a small/medium mixing bowl. It’s important that you use softened, room temperature butter. Your butter must be soft enough to easily smash with a rubber spatula, but you don’t want it to be runny or melted! Toss together the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and oats. Then, using a rubber spatula, fold the soft butter into this dry mix until you achieve a crumble consistency! (pictured below)
- Sprinkle the oat crumble over the top of the apple/cranberry mixture evenly. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes. Cool, serve with vanilla ice cream, and enjoy!
Other Holiday Inspired Desserts to Try:
I’ve got plenty of simple, delicious holiday inspired desserts on my blog for you to try with your family this year! Here are a few of my favorites:
- Easy English Butter Toffee
- Nana’s Old Fashioned Fudge
- Double Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Cheesecake
- Soft Sugar Cookies & Buttercream Frosting
- 4-Ingredient Healthy Peanut Butter Cups
- Dark Chocolate Whiskey Mousse
Easy Cranberry Apple Crisp
Easy Cranberry Apple Crisp
Ingredients
- 5 Granny Smith apples
- 1 c cranberries fresh or frozen
- 1/4 c white sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Oat Crumble Topping
- 1 c oats
- 3/4 c brown sugar
- 1/4 c flour
- 1/2 c butter softened/room temperature
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8×8 (or similar sized) baking dish (I used a 10” cast iron skillet)
- Peel and chop apples into 1/4” – 1/2” slices. Pour into greased baking dish along with cranberries, 1 tsp cinnamon, and white sugar.
- In a separate mixing bowl, fold together oats, sea salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, flour, and brown sugar with the softened butter, using a rubber spatula to incorporate all ingredients to a crumble (could also use the paddle attachment of a stand mixer).
- Sprinkle the oat crumble evenly over the top of the apples in the pan.
- Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes. Cool & serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!!
With Love,
Kelsie
