cranberry apple crisp with brown sugar & oat topping

Cranberry Apple Crisp is a delicious & easy dessert that’s perfect for fall! A filling of sweet apples, tart cranberries, sugar, & spice is nestled under a buttery oat crisp topping. Bake up this quick dessert anytime the fall craving strikes, or make it for Thanksgiving for a fun alternative to a pie!

this recipe

This post is sponsored by our friends at Wisconsin Cranberries! All opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make Blue Bowl possible!

Why You’ll Love This Cranberry Apple Crisp:

• Deliciously Tart Cranberries – Cranberries are a delicious, and under-appreciated, fall staple! Since they are more of a tart fruit, pairing them with a slightly sweet apple is a great option. (And, you’ll be getting a good dose of Vitamin C + E, fiber, and antioxidants – cranberries are a great source of all these things!)
• Sweet Apples – Fresh apple pairs beautifully with the tartness of cranberry and warm spices, so the dessert is not too tangy or overly sweet.
• Perfect Dessert for Fall (or anytime!) – This is a fun and scrumptious dessert for the fall and winter holiday seasons, but you don’t need to wait for an occasion as big as Thanksgiving to enjoy a delicious fruit crisp! Make it because you want to try baking with cranberries, as a fun baking project with kids, or just because you’re craving the cozy flavors of fall.
• Easy and Quick – This is such an easy dessert that anyone can whip it up in about an hour! You don’t even need to peel the apples first. Just prep the filling, mix up the crumbly topping, layer and bake.

Ingredient Overview:

As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Use the table of contents (back at the top, below the first image, to navigate).

• Apples – I love to use Honeycrisp apples in this recipe. The name says it all! They are deliciously sweet and crispy! I don’t bother peeling them, but you can if you prefer.
• Cranberries – If you can’t find fresh cranberries in stores yet, most grocery stores carry them in the frozen section – both options are fabulous. If using frozen, do not thaw them – use them from frozen.
• All-purpose Flour – Spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a flat utensil for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour will lead to too much flour, and a potentially dry bake.
• Vanilla Extract – Use real vanilla extract for the best flavor.
• Oats – Use old-fashioned rolled oats, and not quick-cooking oats. Rolled oats are thick and get nice and crispy, while quick oats get too soft.
• Butter – I always use salted butter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer. Be sure to keep it cold and not let it come to room temperature before cutting into the flour and oat mixture.

Recipe Substitutions and Variations:

• Gluten-free – I have not tried it, but in theory this crisp recipe will work with a gluten-free 1:1 flour blend. Be sure to use gluten-free oats, too, if you need to eliminate any traces of cross contamination.
• Dairy-free – Use dairy-free butter sticks (not margarine) in the topping to easily make this recipe dairy-free and vegan!
• Apples – Other apples that would work well are firm and sweet apples like golden delicious, fuji, or pink lady apples. Avoid softer apples, like McIntosh, as they don’t hold up in baked goods.

How to Make this Cranberry Apple Crisp Recipe:

Step 1: Prep. Preheat your oven. I don’t peel my apples for this recipe, but if the peels bug you, feel free to peel them. Slice your apples 1/4″ thick – you should have about 5 cups of slices.

Step 2: Make the Fruit Filling. Toss together apple slices with some beautiful fresh or frozen Wisconsin cranberries, and a few other ingredients in a large mixing bowl to flavor the filling – brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and a pinch of nutmeg. Set aside to let the juices get going a bit while you make the topping.

Step 3: Make the Topping. This is my all-time favorite crisp topping. It bakes up so buttery + beautifully, with the perfect amount of crisp crunch and sweetness. To make it, you’ll need flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and butter. Combine ingredients in a medium bowl and sprinkle this over your fruit filling.

Step 4: Bake. The hardest part of this recipe is honestly waiting for it to bake. Heh. When done, the topping will be golden brown and the filling will be very bubbly.

Serving + Storing:

Let the crisp rest for about 5-10 minutes before serving, and enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! And, even though cranberries are most commonly thought of as a Thanksgiving food, this dessert is truly perfect any time of year, especially during the fall!

This is best when it’s fresh out of the oven. But leftovers can be covered with plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container, and kept in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat leftovers gently.

Expert Baking Tips:

• Don’t Thaw Frozen Fruit – Keep the cranberries frozen, if using. Thawing frozen fruit will release moisture and make the crisp soggy.
• Cold Butter – The butter needs to be kept in the fridge until ready to cut into the oat mixture and make the fine crumble topping.
• Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
• Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
• Avoid Spillovers – The filling can get very bubbly, and a few drips may leak out. I recommend putting down a piece of foil in the bottom of your oven, to catch drips.

FAQs:

Special Tools:

• Whisk – Using a whisk to blend together the dry crisp ingredients gets everything evenly mixed.
• Pastry Cutter – You can use two forks to cut the butter into the oat mixture, but using a real pastry cutter makes the process much easier.
• Baking Dish – Assemble this crisp in a deep round or square baking dish. Any baking dish you have will work as long as it’s similar in size (I used a 9-inch round pie dish here).

More Fruit Crisp Recipes to Love:

• Brown Butter Peach Crisp
• The Best Skillet Apple Crisp
• Best One-Bowl Blueberry Crisp
• Peach Blackberry Crisp for Two
• Peach Crisp Yogurt Bowls

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