We served this Cinnamon Apple Crisp dessert to our Dinner Club guests last weekend. And since we used up every last minute of prep cooking time (before the guests arrived) working on the appetizers and main dishes, I found myself starting from scratch with this dessert at the end of the night. This was after a long day, and, to top it off, this was a dish I’d never even made before.
I usually only serve guests recipes that I know will turn out well, but lately I’ve been more lax in that department for some reason. You just never know when you are going to have a recipe fail! But thankfully I learned it’s hard to screw up apples, butter, sweetener, oats, and nuts all baked together in cute little jars of goodness. Clearly the only reason I wanted to serve this dessert in the first place was for an excuse to buy those jars!
The rest of our evening was (thankfully) a lot less spontaneous. Here’s what we served:
“Southern Small Plates” Dinner Club Menu
- Boiled Peanuts: I previously thought this might be a complicated recipe when in fact it’s just peanuts that have been boiled! It does take quite a few hours and you certainly don’t want to forget the salt and other seasonings, but this one is super simple.
- Organic Pimento Cheese: I used the recipe that’s already on my blog for this appetizer.
- Local Fried Green Tomatoes: This recipe came out of Joy of Cooking (my cookbook bible).
- Organic Kale and Apple Salad: Coming to the blog soon!
- Whole-Wheat Biscuits and Jam: This is another recipe that’s already on my blog. I just made them into a bite-sized version and served with butter and storebought all fruit jam.
- NC Shrimp and Grits: We went out of our way to ensure we had fresh, local, wild caught shrimp for this dish instead of any questionable seafood shipped in from China!
- Local Pulled Pork and Slaw: The pork was also purchased from a local vendor and this recipe will be coming to the blog soon as well! I’ve actually been working on this one for a while and finally got the results I was hoping for. :)
- Organic Apple Crisp with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream: Get this easy crisp recipe below! And for the ice cream I loosely followed this recipe (without the pecan topping).
Are you part of a “Dinner Club” as well? How does yours work? I’d love to hear the details in the comments!
Cinnamon Apple Crisp
Ingredients
Apple Filling
Crumble Topping
Optional Topping
- ice cream (vanilla is especially delicious!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Slice the apples into thin 1″ pieces. I do this by using an apple slicer and then cutting each slice two more times (both longways and crossways).
- Toss the apples in a medium sized bowl with the cinnamon, butter, and honey. To make the honey slide right out of the tablespoon (as opposed to sticking) measure out the melted butter first.
- Evenly divide the apple mixture into 8 half-pint jars (or together in one pie plate if using). Place the jars on a large baking sheet.
- In the same mixing bowl combine the crumble ingredients including the oats, flour, walnuts, melted butter, honey, and salt. Evenly divide the mixture over top the seasoned apples in the jars.
- Cover the jars with one large piece of foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil, turn the oven up to broil, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer or until the topping turns a light golden brown. Serve with homemade vanilla ice cream (if desired) and enjoy!
Could this be “canned” to have on the shelves for later?
Made this today for Christmas dessert! Prepped it a few hours in advance and let it sit with the foil on top for a few hours, and still came out great :) This lighter, healthier dessert was so delicious and perfect after a heavier Christmas dinner.
Can this be prepped ahead or will the apples turn brown?
It can. The apples might brown a little but it is not noticeable once cooked.
Hi. I want to try this recipe as gifts for my other teachers in the social studies pod. I want to have instructions on a little gift tag….What is best for reheating?
Hi. I cover lightly with foil and reheat at 350 until heated through approximately 8 minutes assuming they are thawed.
Can u use coconut oil instead of butter?
My son and I just made this today with Coconut Oil because we are out of butter. Also replaced the walnuts (out of walnuts) with 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of flax seeds that we ground up. It was wonderful. :-)
Can these be frozen? If so-before or after baking?
Hi Kara. I have frozen them after baking.
Made this in the pie pan tonight ! All the grown ups loved it ! None of the kids ate it. Going to add a little brown sugar to the crumb topping and peel the apples next time :)
Can you buy local organic apples? They are on the dirty dozen list.
Hi there. We can, seasonally. Otherwise, we can find them in our grocery stores.
Looks Amazing!
@bbk
bluebarnkitchen.ocm
could you make this recipe modified for peaches instead of apples? Peaches are in season for the summer!
Hello Katie. If you try it, let us know how it goes.
I made it with peaches last week, and it was incredible. I used 3 peaches because peaches a re typically smaller than a large apple and have a bigger pit. Made all in one pan. I’m actually trying it in my crock pot right now because I have seen a lot of crumbles and crisps done this way online. I only used two peaches and about 1/2-2/3s of the topping because I find that I don’t use as much in a single pan. We’ll see how it goes, although I am anticipating less crispy.
My all time favorite. Great recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Simon
Please to do NOT bake things in jars unless they are specifically labeled as oven safe! Ball jars are NOT oven safe, per the manufacturer.
We made this today in a 9×13 pan because I don’t have little jars. It’s ok. I love that it’s not overly sweet so it works for a breakfast for the kids, but we had a terrible time getting the crumb topping all moist. I ended up needing quite a bit more butter because it had cooked, dry flour on top at the end.
Delicious! I’ve made this multiple times since I came across it and it always turns out great. I usually make it in a glass dish or metal one since I don’t have glass jars.
Has anyone tried freezing these either before or after cooking?
Hi. Yep, after cooking works well.
Did you have any problems with the glass when you broiled the dessert? I’m always worried about such high direct heat on glass — even canning jars, which are supposed to be used in boiling water. Nobody had any problem with this?
Made this last night for a sweet treat after dinner and was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was!! I love that is calls for honey instead of sugar. You’re totally right it doesn’t need the sugar at all. thanks for a great recipe!
I looked at the Cinnamon Hill website and I was wondering if you also grate your own nutmeg, clove, and ginger. I’m just getting into spices and need some guidance.
Hi there. Mostly cinnamon but have also grated nutmeg. ;)
This was very good. I have been enjoying many of your recipes, and we had some friends over for dinner last night. I made them this dessert because I realized I had forgotten dessert, and I only had a few minutes to throw something together. This was so quick and tasty! I knew I could trust one of your recipes to come through for me, and it did! Did I mention this was super, super easy?!?!
That was a terrific dessert! Well we sort of cheated and had it as a side dish. Delicious, quick, easy, tasty, everything you could want in a dessert.
Can I omit the flour to make this recipe gluten-free? Or at least substitute it with something else you recommend?
Hi there. Subbing with a gluten free blend should work.
Do you store leftovers in fridge or just on counter??
Thanks!
Hi Jennifer. I’d put them in the fridge.
If I use granola to top it do I still bake it for the same time?
Hi Patty. Yes, keep it the same. :)
Is there a problem with site? I cannot see any of your recipes
We had a brief technical hiccup. All is fixed. :)
I searched high and low for a clean apple pie recipe that suited my family. I never found one so I finally took a few recipes merged them together and cleaned them up. I used your crumb topping instead of a top crust. The results are amazing. It is the best pie I have ever eaten clean or not. It was your topping that pushed it over the edge into heavenly.
I am also looking for a clean eating apple pie recipe! Please share Alaina!
In the old days I had a really good apple crisp recipe. I needed to make it more Real Food friendly for my new style of eating. Your site was a go to place for updating my recipe. I had peaches I needed to use, and I thought they would work as well as the apples. I did make one change to your recipe (besides peaches), I had seen another recipe with peaches and they used Chinese Five Spice instead of the Cinnamon. It came out great!
Good, but the topping didn’t get crispy. It was just very crumbley and dry. I might try again with cold butter.