Apple Cranberry Crisp Recipe: How to Make Apple Cranberry Crisp

Apple cranberry crisp is a rustic dessert that consists of a thick baked fruit filling topped with a crumb-like streusel topping. Sweet, juicy apples are paired with tart cranberries in this fall-friendly recipe to create the perfect contrast of seasonal fruity flavors. Apple cranberry crisp is similar to cobbler, but instead of being topped with biscuit dough, this dessert is topped with a crispier oat crumb topping.

Apple cranberry crisp is a simple recipe that even inexperienced bakers can master. Follow these tips to make sure that your apple cranberry crisp turns out perfect.

1. 1. Use crisp, in-season apples. The star of any crisp is the fruit filling. For this recipe, use ripe, crisp apples with a slightly tart flavor, like Honeycrisp, Braeburn, and granny smith apples. Never use canned apples or apple pie filling in a crisp, which can yield an overly soft, soggy topping.
2. 2. Use fresh or frozen cranberries. While fresh cranberries are the preferred option for this cranberry apple crisp, an equal portion of unthawed frozen cranberries will also work. Never use canned cranberry sauce for this dish, which can lead to an overly-sweet filling.
3. 3. Always add starch. Mixing a starch like cornstarch or baking powder into your fruit filling safeguards against a soppy crisp by thickening the fruit juices.
4. 4. Experiment with additions. You can alter this simple crisp recipe with different spices, fruits, nuts, and more. Add dried fruits, like dried cranberries, and orange juice or orange zest to your filling for variations in fruit flavor. Sprinkle different spices and nuts in your oat crumble topping to create different textures and flavor combinations.
5. 5. Go gluten-free. This apple cranberry crisp recipe can easily be made gluten-free. Simply swap out the all-purpose flour in the filling and topping for gluten-free all-purpose flour.