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Home » Recipes » Desserts & Baking

cranberry apple crisp with brown sugar & oat topping

September 17, 2021 Leave a Comment

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Cranberry Apple Crisp is a delicious and easy dessert that’s perfect for fall. Mix up a filling of sweet apples, tart cranberries, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon and top it with the butteriest crisp topping. Bake up this quick dessert anytime the fall craving strikes, or make it for Thanksgiving for a fun alternative to a pie!

A dish of the cranberry apple crisp topped with ice cream. 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!

Cranberries are a delicious, and under-appreciated, fall staple! They’re so versatile and can be used in a variety of dessert recipes. Since they are more of a tart fruit, pairing them with a slightly sweet variety of apple, like in this Cranberry Apple Crisp, is a great option. Let’s make it together!

A spoon scooping into the baking dish of the crisp.

How to Make Cranberry Apple Crisp:

This is such an easy dessert that anyone can whip up! Toss together apple slices with some beautiful fresh or frozen Wisconsin cranberries, and a few other ingredients to flavor the filling – brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and a pinch of nutmeg. Add the filling to a 9-inch baking dish. 

A baking dish filled with the apple and cranberry filling.

Then, mix up your 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. Sprinkle this over your fruit filling, and then bake it all up! The hardest part of this recipe is honestly waiting for it to bake. Heh. 

And, while it’s baking, let’s chat about cranberries! Wisconsin produces more than just cheese – we’re responsible for more than half the world’s cranberries. And, even if you can’t find fresh cranberries in stores yet, most grocery stores carry them in the frozen section – both options are fabulous. And, you’ll be getting a good dose of Vitamin C + E, fiber, and antioxidants – cranberries are a great source of all these things!

A baking dish filled with the fruit filling and topped with the crisp topping.

You must serve this while it’s piping hot from the oven, with a scoop (or two, or three!) of vanilla bean ice cream. And, even though cranberries are most commonly thought of as a Thanksgiving food, this dessert is truly perfect anytime of year, especially during the fall! You don’t need to wait for an occasion as big as Thanksgiving to enjoy this delicious 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. 

The baking dish of cranberry apple crisp topped with ice cream, with cups of coffee.

Happy baking, and happy fall! I hope you love this delicious dessert as much as we do. 

Three plates of the cranberry apple crisp, topped with ice cream.

Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment! 

Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make! Be sure to leave a comment + rating if you make this recipe, letting me know how you liked it. 

Cranberry Apple Crisp

Cranberry Apple Crisp is a delicious and easy dessert that's perfect for fall. Mix up a filling of sweet apples, tart cranberries, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon and top it with the butteriest crisp topping. Bake up this quick dessert anytime the fall craving strikes, or make it for Thanksgiving for a fun alternative to a pie!
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Dessert
Keyword: Easy Desserts, Thanksgiving Desserts
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 56 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

For the Cranberry Apple Filling

  • 4 large Honeycrisp apples
  • 1 1/4 cup fresh or frozen Wisconsin cranberries If using frozen, don't thaw them
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Crisp Topping

  • 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup old-fashioned whole rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup cold salted butter (1 stick, 8 tbsp, or 113 grams)

For Serving

  • vanilla bean ice cream

Instructions

  • Prep: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 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.
  • Make the Fruit Filling: Toss all filling ingredients together in a mixing bowl, making sure to get everything well combined. Set aside to let the juices get going a bit while you make the topping.
  • Make the Topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and oats. Cut the butter into large cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter or clean hands, until you have a crumbly mixture with pieces of butter the size of blueberries (some will be smaller). Give the filling one last stir, and sprinkle this evenly over the top of the cranberry apple filling.
  • Bake: The filling can get quite bubbly, and a few drips may leak out, so I recommend putting down a piece of foil in the bottom of your oven, to catch drips. Bake for 54 to 58 minutes. The topping will be golden brown and the filling will be very bubbly.
  • Serve + Store: Let the crisp rest for about 5-10 minutes before serving, and enjoy with vanilla ice cream! This is best when it's fresh out of the oven, but leftovers can be covered and kept in the fridge for a 3-4 days. Reheat leftovers gently.
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Hi. I’m Stephanie

I’m a Mom & Grandma-taught cook + baker, and I’m excited to share my love of all things food with you!

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Order my new book

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