The Only Apple Crisp Recipe You’ll Ever Need (I Have It Memorized)

Whoever first said “easy as pie” never spent much time making apple crisp, which provides all the flavor with a fraction of the work. A perfect crisp is golden on top, bubbling at the edges, and generous with the sweet, nutty topping, so there’s plenty of crunch when you serve it with ice cream.

My favorite version—the one I’ve made in poorly equipped rental kitchens, in bulk for my sister’s baby shower, and after apple picking—is a recipe I created specifically to be memorized, with easy numbers that scale to fit any kitchen and crowd. It’s a “cuppa cuppa” recipe, which really means a recipe designed to be unneeded. 

What Makes This Crisp Magic

You can scale the crisp up or down based on how much you want to make. For the filling, it’s just a tablespoon (ish) each of flour and sugar per pound of fruit—maybe a bit more flour for super juicy fruit like peaches or plums, or slightly more sugar for very tart fruit like rhubarb.

For the crisp topping, you’ll need a cup of everything and a stick of butter. How easy is that? Divide all the ingredients by half to make a crisp half the size in an eight-inch cast iron pan, or increase by 50 percent for that weirdly large pan your mom has—you get the picture.

The filling and topping both have a teaspoon each of salt and cinnamon, which are also scalable, and can be eyeballed if necessary. I promise you can math it.

Which Apples To Use

Tart apples are my favorite to use for crisp. I gravitate towards Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and Pink Lady, but any apple on the tart side will work. Avoid using all Granny Smith apples, as this can make the filling too tart.

My Favorite Crisp Variations

• Use other spices: Replace the cinnamon with cardamom, ginger, or pumpkin pie spice.
• Dessert for breakfast: Use 2 cups nuts for an extra crunchy top and serve with yogurt for breakfast.
• Mix up the fruit: For a combo crisp, add 1 cup blueberries, raspberries, or cranberries.