This cranberry apple crisp is sweet, tart, crispy, chewy and crunchy! A perfect fall dessert for Thanksgiving or after apple picking! It’s so easy to make and can be made without oats and vegan, too!
Heaven knows I love Autumn desserts, and this is one of my favorite desserts to make for Autumn dinner guests when I don’t have a lot of time (or if I want to spend most of my dinner party budget on an extra fancy entree instead of dessert).
It just takes 4 Granny Smith apples, a few cranberries, a little granola and ingredients that I bet you already have in your kitchen!
Apple Cranberry Crisp with Maple Granola – Step by Step
1. First, preheat oven to 375 F. (190 C.). Peel 4 medium-large Granny Smith apples.
2. Cut apples into half-inch thick slices
3. In a large mixing bowl, add sliced apples, ½ cup cranberries, ¼ cup white sugar, 1½ tsp. ground cinnamon and ½ tsp. ground nutmeg. Mix together until apples and cranberries are nicely coated.
4. Grease 8”x 8” pyrex baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
5. Pour apples and cranberries evenly into the pyrex.
6. In the same mixing bowl, combine 1½ cups maple granola, ⅔ cup flour, ½ cup packed brown sugar and 1 stick (4 oz.) softened butter. Mix with hands until evenly blended.
7. I find I get the most even, crispy top if I place the granola mixture in my hand and flatten it out to about a half-inch thick piece, then patch it over the apples in sections.
8. Place flattened sections of topping piece by piece over the apples and cranberries, making sure to fill to the edges. Bake for 40 minutes, or until topping is golden brown, and let it sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.
This is how it should look before it goes into the oven.
Common Questions
Sure! Simply substitute granola with rolled oatmeal. Granola just makes it a little more tasty than using plain oatmeal.
Yes! I suggest substituting 1½ cups of granola with coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans if you want to avoid oats.
Of course! Simply substitute butter with a vegan butter like Earth Balance that has the same texture and melts similarly to dairy butter. And if you’re a vegan that doesn’t eat honey, make sure to check that your granola doesn’t contain any.
Refrigerate in its pyrex with cellophane on top. It will last at least a week and a half in the fridge. You can also freeze it for up to a month.
Simply pop it in the oven at 300 F. (148 C.) for 10-15 minutes.
Yeah, ya kinda do. At least, that’s my opinion. There’s so much texture in the crumble that you really don’t need (or want) anymore. The apples are so much tastier when they’re nice and tender without a tough skin.
A Few Tips
1. Use only Granny Smith apples for this recipe. A lot of apple crisp recipes call for apples like Golden Delicious, Honey Crisp or McIntosh, and some even suggest mixing them up, but I highly suggest using only Granny Smiths.
The sweetness of the sugar and granola make the tart green apples and cranberries so exciting!
2. Frozen cranberries are just as good as fresh for this recipe. You don’t have to wait till the end of October when fresh cranberries start showing up in stores to make this dessert!
You don’t even have to let them thaw before mixing them in! Just make sure that they’re a nice quality brand, and that they haven’t overly-thawed and become soggy.
3. You can serve this dessert hot or cold, but if you serve it hot, you’ve GOT to serve it with a little vanilla ice cream on the side if you really want to melt your dinner guests.
You can also serve it with a little fresh whipped cream, which is (almost) as heavenly.
When it’s done, it looks extra pretty when topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with a few marigold petals, don’t you think?
Now, Help Yourself to Some More Autumn Recipe Inspiration!
For more inspiration, subscribe to my newsletter, follow me on Instagram, on Pinterest, tiktok and Facebook! And if you ever make any of my tasty drinks or treats, take a picture and tag me. I want to see!
Cranberry Apple Crisp with Maple Granola
Ingredients
For the Apple/Cranberry Filling
- 4 Granny Smith apples – medium to large
- ½ cup cranberries – fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- 1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
For the Topping
- ½ cup dark brown sugar – packed
- 1½ cup maple granola
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter – softened (with a little extra to grease your pyrex)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C).
- Peel 4 medium-large Granny Smith apples and cut them into half-inch thick slices.
- In a large mixing bowl, add sliced apples, ½ cup cranberries, ¼ cup white sugar, 1½ tsp. ground cinnamon and ½ tsp. ground nutmeg. Mix together until apples and cranberries are nicely coated.
- Grease an 8”x 8” pyrex baking dish with butter (or cooking spray) and pour your apples and cranberries evenly into the pyrex.
- In the same mixing bowl, combine 1½ cups maple granola, ⅔ cup flour, ½ cup packed brown sugar and 1 stick (4 oz.) softened butter. Mix with hands until evenly blended.
- I find I get the most even, crispy top if I place the granola mixture in my hand and flatten it out to about a half-inch thick piece, then patch it over the apple in sections. Create patches of filling and cover apples until they're entirely covered to the edges.
- Bake at 375 F. (190 C.) for 40 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.
- Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Leave a Reply