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Cranberry Apple Crisp

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Cranberry Apple Crisp

A number of months ago I applied to become a part of the Secret Recipe Club. They were full, but were accepting applicants to put on a waiting list. Off and on, as I came across other bloggers who were lucky enough to be members of the club, I would get a little wistful. I felt like I was in high school again, waiting to see if I had “made it into The Club”.

Remember how important it was in high school to be a part of something, even if it was being a part of the nerd bunch? By the way, I was a nerd and I came to not mind it at all. So much less stressful! But that’s a blog post for another time. Right now, the focus is on finally getting to be a part of the Secret Recipe Club and getting my first assignment.

This month I was assigned the blog “Betcha Can’t Eat Just One” by Katie, who lives with her husband and three young children in British Columbia. Katie has been blogging since 2009 and has a blog full of delicious treats. It was tricky trying to pick out just one thing to try. I finally settled on Cranberry Apple Crisp because it was one of Katie’s personal recipes.

If you are thinking, “Oh yeah, she probably just tosses in some Craisins,” think again. Katie uses whole cranberry sauce in this crisp and it is really delicious, bringing that tart cranberry taste to contrast with the expected sweetness of the apples, sugar, and cinnamon. There was another surprise, too. Katie used brown sugar instead of white sugar. Nice call.

Apple crisp, to me, embodies all that is autumn and is one of my very favorite desserts. The whole cranberry sauce adds some unexpected flavor and makes me think about the happy times to come in the Holidays ahead.

Cranberry Apple Crisp
Print Recipe

Cranberry Apple Crisp


Ingredients

  • 6 large Granny Smith apples or other tart apples (about 8-10 cups)
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 4 teaspoons flour
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 (14 ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
  • 2 tablespoons butter

For the Topping

  • 1 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Peel, core and slice the apples 1/2 – inch thick.
  • Toss the apples with the brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, flour, nutmeg, and salt.
  • Spread apples evenly into a 9- x 13- inch baking dish. Dot with bits of butter, if desired.
  • Spoon cranberry sauce over the apples, and smooth it across the apples as needed.
  • In a separate bowl mix the oats, flour, sugar and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and stir with a spoon until there are no dry bits of flour/oat mixture left. 
  • Sprinkle the oat mixture over the apples and cranberry sauce.
  • Bake for 40-60 minutes (depending on how soft you like the apples) and until the topping is golden brown and crunchy. (I baked my crisp for 45 minutes.)
  • Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of sweetened heavy cream.

Notes

Recipe Source: Katie @ Betcha Can’t Eat Just One
Peel and core the apples, then slice them about 1/2″ thick. Don’t stress over the thickness. Some of my apple pieces were only 1/4″ thick or maybe less. Tell no one.
Mix the apples with the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and salt.
Spread the apples in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish or pan.
Dot with butter. This part is completely optional, but I like how it makes a richer syrup.
Good ol’ cranberry sauce, straight from the can.
I decided to put it in a bowl so that I could stir it up a bit to break up the jellied-ness. Afterwards, I thought how good a bit of orange zest would have been a nice accent to the apples and cranberries. Next time.
Put the cranberry sauce in dollops over the apples.
Use the back of a spoon to sort of spread the cranberry sauce over the apples.
Mix those dry ingredients in a bowl…oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon.
Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients. Temptation is peeking over my shoulder and whispering in my ear.
Start mixing the butter with the dry ingredients. At first you may think that things will not come together. Don’t be silly. Of course it will.
PERFECT! See those nuggets? Mine.
Scatter the oat mixture over the cranberries and apples. Like I said earlier, I made a double batch of the crisp mixture because I like this part of apple crisp the very best. I wanted to make sure that every square millimeter was covered with the crisp.
Here it is, fresh out of the oven. In retrospect, I wish that I had left it in the oven for a few minutes longer to allow the topping to a richer color of brown.
A scoop of ice cream…ooooorrr, a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Looks like it turned out beautifully! I always forget to dot my apples with butter when I’m making pie too….I remember after i get the top crust on and then i have to try and squeeze butter into the slits of the pastry!

    I’m so excited about fall baking 🙂

    Thank you for all the kind words!

    Katie

    Reply

  2. Welcome to the club. It’s so much fun! I’ve been contemplating lots of crisps and cobblers now that the weather in my area is getting a bit cooler. Great pick for the SRC!

    Reply

  4. This is my first month in the club also….yay for us!
    I LOVE your first photo – so beautiful. The recipe sounds fabulous – I can’t wait to try it this fall.

    Reply

  7. Oh my gosh, that looks AMAZING. Like, want to go start peeling apples right this minute awesome. Yum. And I was the same way, being on the waiting list for so long, getting that high-school feeling! Great choice, beautiful apple crisp.

    Reply

  9. Welcome to SRC, Terri! This is an amazing looking dish–love the idea of cranberries and apples together–and you might be right about the orange zest. Pinning to try soon!

    Reply

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