This recipe was a big part of my childhood. Grandma always made sure to have apple crisp whenever I was there; she knew how much I loved it, and I think she loved making it for me.
Apple crisp brings back so many happy memories. I can still see the last memory as if it happened yesterday. The look on her face when I got excited to have a piece of apple crisp. Her smile always warmed my heart.
The recipe was simple but always made from the heart.
BOOK INSPIRATION:
Since apples hold a big part of childhood memories, I love adding apple conversations and recipes in my books.
In the Man Card Series, books eight through twelve, you can enjoy some serious apple love at Appleton Farm. Hint: There may be some fried apple pies with cream cheese waiting for you. Of course, there are also cider donuts, cinnamon rolls with diced apples, and even fried apple pie with hard cider. So good!
In My Candy Apple (Man Card Book Twelve), we do talk about apple crisp. The moment the recipe was mentioned I knew we needed to enjoy grandma’s delicious recipe.
In the Man Card Series Appleton Farm books, I share about my family’s apple farm in my hometown. Well, that’s not the only reason I fell in love with apples at a very early age.
My love also began with those two amazing souls in the photo with me. I loved spending so much time with my Grandma and Grandpa, and I especially loved helping them in the kitchen.
Grandma and Grandpa loved sweet treats. Grammy made all our favorite recipes. My favorite was apple crisp. When I was living in Tucson, Arizona, they actually sent me a couple of care packages of the amazing treat. It was one of the best moments for me, having a piece of home while still on the other side of the country.
BEHIND THE SCENES:
In November 2019, I kicked off this food blog by sharing a piece of me.
The last time I had my favorite recipe was September 2018. Hubby and I were visiting Michigan (we’re both from there), and we spent the weekend with Grandma. She was 94 and had trouble standing for long periods, but she made us her apple crisp. A few months before the trip, we had changed our diet and cut out sweets. When I discovered Gram had made it just for me, well… I couldn’t say no. Like hubby said, “When your Grandma makes you her special apple crisp, you eat it.”
It was the best weekend and the best apple crisp.
Eight months later, in May of 2019, I lost my Grandma.
It took me a few years to finally make the recipe again. Every time I make apple crisp I know Grandma is with me and she is happy because I’m happy.
I hope you love this recipe just as much as we all have over the years.
Grandma’s Homemade Apple Crisp
Recipe by Grandma and Terra Kelly
Prep: 25-30 minutes
Cook: 40-45 minutes
Makes: 10-12 servings
Ingredients
Crisp Topping:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour (or whole grain spelt flour)
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup brown sugar (or 1 cup coconut sugar)
½ cup granulated sugar (or ½ cup coconut sugar)
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup melted butter (if you use whole grain flour, you need to use 1 cup butter, melted. Plus, set aside 2 Tbsp.) (see notes at bottom)
Apple Filling:
8 cups cored and sliced apples
1 cup sugar (or 1 cup coconut sugar)
2 tsp cinnamon
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a 9 x 13 pan, add the prepared apples, sugar, and cinnamon and mix well. Let the apples sit for about 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar, sugar, and salt. Then add the melted butter and stir to combine. (See notes for flour alternative)
Evenly spread the crisp topping over the apples. Bake for about 40-45 minutes (the top will be crisp and golden brown, and the edges will be bubbling) (see notes on cooking if you change the flour).
Let it cool and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
If you grab a piece right out of the oven, you'll notice there is a lot of liquid (which is okay). Let it cool a bit, and the liquid will thicken and soak into the apples. For best results, chill it in the refrigerator to thicken the ingredients.
If you use whole-grain flour instead of all-purpose, here's one adjustment you’ll need to make: mix the crumble and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Waiting allows the whole-grain flour and oats to absorb moisture and soften. After 15 minutes, you may find you need to add a little liquid to the crumble. Add the reserved 2 Tbsp of melted butter. You can also see the changes in the YouTube video here.
When using whole-grain flour, you sometimes need more liquid in a recipe. The original recipe uses 2/3 cup of melted butter. I found I needed 1 cup of melted butter with my spelt flour. Plus, the reserved 2 Tbsp of melted butter.
We mostly use coconut sugar for our recipes. It works 1:1 with granulated sugar, so it’s easy to swap out.
You can use salted or unsalted butter for the recipe.
My Grandma always recommended Macintosh apples for cooking. It wasn't always easy to find that variety, so I've used several types over the years. There is no specific apple required for this recipe.
Have fun with the recipe! I love my apple crisp cold right out of the refrigerator. My Grandma loved hers warmed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream–so many possibilities.
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