Although it’s hard to imagine that apple crisp needs much improvement, we liked the tartness and texture that cranberries added to one of our favorite standard dessert recipes. The challenges were balancing the fruit flavors and making sure that the filling baked evenly while the topping stayed crisp.
We achieved the perfect fruit mix by combining fresh and dried cranberries, and we precooked all the fruit and added tapioca to thicken the juices. This step shortened the oven time and ensured that the classic butter, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and oat topping lived up to the name “crisp.”
If you can’t find Braeburn apples, Golden Delicious will work. While old-fashioned rolled oats are preferable in this recipe, quick oats can be substituted; do not use instant oats. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
CRANBERRY-APPLE CRISP
Servings: 8
Start to finish: 1 hour 30 minutes
Topping:
3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed (3 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats
Filling:
1 pound (4 cups) fresh or frozen cranberries
1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 1/2 pounds Braeburn apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
3 tablespoons Minute Tapioca
Nutrition information per serving: 639 calories; 165 calories from fat; 19 g fat (11 g saturated;1 g trans fats); 46 mg cholesterol; 11 mg sodium; 120 g carbohydrate; 12 g fiber; 86 g sugar; 4 g protein.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.