Close your eyes, and let me take you on an adventure.
It’s a Sunday night.
Every Sunday you go to your grandparent’s house for dinner.
As you step inside, the most irresistible aroma envelops you - sweet, sugary apples mingling with the toasty scent of oats. Suddenly, you're transported to a place of warmth and comfort, yearning to curl up by the fireplace with a fluffy blanket and let the world pass you by.
That is the magic of this apple oat crumble recipe I will share with you. It's unbelievably simple to whip up, uses just a handful of ingredients, and will have your loved ones reminiscing about cherished moments at grandma's house.
The beauty of this dessert is that you can pop it into the oven right as you serve dinner. When you finish your meal, your kitchen will be filled with the heavenly scent of cinnamon-kissed apples. Top it off with a velvety vanilla ice cream scoop, and you have a surefire crowd-pleaser on your hands.
Origins
The crumble was created by the British during World War II. Fruit crumbles replaced the pie as an easier, quicker dessert option. Without crust or an intricate pastry weave topping, fruit crumbles became a recipe on their own.
Any fruit, including apples, pears, peaches, and even blueberries, can be used in a crumble recipe.
We will put our modern touch on the traditional crumble recipe by using apples and oats. The oats are going to add extra nuttiness and crunch.
Tips
- Slow-cook the apples. Low and slow is always a great option when baking fruits. The natural sugars from the apples will release slowly during the cooking process, creating a sweet and soft base.
- Toast your oats. I’ve seen people toasting oats more and more these days, and there is a good reason why! Toasting oats in a pan before using them in a recipe will bring out the nutty flavors from the oats and enhance the flavor of the crumble overall.
- Slice the apples all one width. They will cook evenly by keeping a cohesive shape and size of the apple slices.
Ingredients
This recipe's best part is that most ingredients are staple items. This is the perfect dish if you want to throw together a quick dessert. Most of the items will already be in your pantry, and your house will smell like warm apple delicious-ness in no time!
- Apples - Slice them thin or chop them into small cubes.
- Sugar - This recipe calls for brown and white sugar; however, if you only have one or the other, that’s okay too. Just double up on it.
- Oats - Rolled oats are best for this recipe. Instant rolled oats are okay as well. I recommend not using steel cut as the texture will be completely different.
- Butter
- Cinnamon
- Flour
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 before beginning the preparation steps.
Next, you are going to peel the apples. This recipe calls for red apples, however, if you want to use a different type or color, go for it. You’re going to peel them and then slice them into thin slices. The thinner the slices, the faster they will bake.
Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a microwave-safe dish. Once the butter is melted, stir in the brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon. It will create a thick, slush-like consistency.
Place the sliced apples in an 8x8 oven-safe dish and pour the butter/sugar mixture over the top. Mix everything together until all the apple slices are covered in the butter/sugar mix.
Cover it with tin foil and place it in the oven for 20 minutes.
While the apples are baking, it's time to make the oat crumble on top.
Combine the brown sugar, flour, rolled oats, and diced butter in a large mixing bowl. Dicing the butter will make it easier to mix everything. Use your hands or a potato masher to mix everything together. The texture you want to achieve is cohesive but not too chunky. Break up the pieces of butter, so the sugar and oats are incorporated.
After the apples have been baked for 20 minutes, carefully take them out of the oven, uncover them, and add the oat crumble on top. Don’t be scared to go heavy on the oat crumble!
Stick it back in the oven for another 25 minutes or until the oats are a beautiful golden brown.
TIP: Before serving, broil the apple oat crumble on high in the oven to give the top a crunchy texture. Be careful to watch the broiler, so the crumble doesn’t burn!
Serve and enjoy! (Maybe with a little bit of vanilla or butter pecan ice cream!)
Equipment Needed
No special equipment is needed for this recipe, although some kitchen tools may help.
Apple Peeler: Growing up, I had this apple peeler that attaches to the apple at the corn and peels the apple with a hand crank. It would core and peel the apple all at once. While this kitchen gadget still exists, I don’t see them as often in the modern kitchen.
A hand peeler will work just as well.
Oven-safe baking dish: This recipe calls for an oven-safe baking dish. If you don’t have one, a pie tin would work just as well!
Potato Masher: If you don’t like getting your hands dirty in the kitchen, a potato masher is a great tool to combine the oat/butter/sugar/flour crumble topping.
Serving Suggestions
There are so many ways we can make this recipe even better!
Top it with ice cream! This tradition is old as time. Creamy, vanilla ice cream and warm Apple Oat Crumble. Nothing beats it.
If you don’t have ice cream in your freezer, top it with whipped cream. Whipped cream is a fluffy, cold, sweet topping that will lighten up the heaviness of the crumble. Use whipped cream from a can, cool whip for a lower calorie option, or make your own from scratch with heavy whipping cream and sugar.
If you have leftovers after serving this delicious dish (which I highly doubt), throw the remainder in a bowl of Greek yogurt in the morning as a sweet, crunchy topping.
Substitutions
If apples aren’t your favorite fruit or you don’t like red apples, but you want to use this recipe as a base for your dessert, here are some substitutions you can implement:
- Use your favorite apples! If you don’t like red apples, use green apples! Green apples will create a more tart base. Grab your favorite bag of apples at the grocery store; it’s up to you.
- Sub any fruit. If you don’t like apples, use blueberries or peaches.
- Cut the butter. This recipe has quite a lot of butter, but for a good reason. Butter = fat = flavor. To decrease the amount of butter, substitute mashed banana in the oat crumble. The sweetness from the bananas will add flavor while maintaining the texture.
- Substitute cinnamon for cardamom or allspice. If you don’t have cinnamon on hand, cardamom or allspice will provide a similar nutty, fruity, peppery sense to the Apple Oat Crumble.
FAQ
What is the crumble topping made of?
Our beloved crumble topping is made from just three simple ingredients: flour, sugar, and butter. These little gems work together to create that irresistible crunch and sweetness we all adore on top of our pies, muffins, and cakes. And here's a little secret - add some oats to the mix for an extra satisfying crunch! 🍪
Why is my apple crumble not crunchy? What am I doing wrong?
The culprit might be over-mixing the butter into the flour, sugar, and oat mixture. That lovely crunch comes from the chunky bits of butter mixed in with the other ingredients. So, make sure you have a nice, crumbly texture (not a smooth, buttery one) before you lay it over your apples.
How do I make my crumble topping crispy?
Oh, I've got the perfect trick for you! 🤗
To make your crumble topping extra crispy, pop it in the freezer for 2-3 hours before baking. Mix the flour, sugar, butter, and oats until it's nice and crumbly, then let it chill. The frozen mixture will hold its shape while baking, resulting in that perfect, crispy topping. Yum!
Can I make an apple crumble on the stove?
While you can definitely stew the apples on the stovetop, you'll need to pop that baby in the oven to achieve the iconic crunchy top that makes it so special. But hey, I've got a nifty little workaround for you! If you have air-fryer-safe ramekins, place the cooked apples inside, top with the raw crumble, and air fry for that oh-so-crunchy topping. Voila!
This recipe is the perfect dessert to top off any meal. This new twist on an old classic will have the whole neighborhood knocking on your door after dinner. The warmth from the apples, the sweetness from the cinnamon and sugar, and the toasty oats all play a vital role in the perfection that is this dessert. So much so that if there are leftovers, I recommend eating them the next day with some yogurt for breakfast to kickstart a great day.
📖 Recipe
Apple Oat Crumble
Ingredients
Apple Bake
- 4 red apples peeled and sliced
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Oat Crumble Topping
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup butter diced into small cubes
- ¾ cup rolled oats
Instructions
Apple Bake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Peel red apples and slice them into thin pieces
- In a small bowl, melt the butter
- Add brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon
- Combine apples and butter/sugar mixture and toss until all apples are coated in the mixture
- Place in an oven-safe, 8x8 dish, cover, and bake for 20 minutes
Oat Crumble Topping
- Mix together until it looks like a cohesive mix (similar to granola)
- Once the apples are done cooking, top them with the oat crumble topping
- Place back in the oven, uncovered, for an additional 25 minutes
- If desired, broil on HIGH for 3-4 minutes to crisp the top
Comments
No Comments