You simply make a sweet apple filling with all the classics like cinnamon, brown sugar, and apples, pop it into a dish and top with a mixture of rolled oats, brown sugar, flour, and more cinnamon for a crispy crunchy topping everyone loves.
6cupssliced granny smith applesabout 3 pounds of apples
2Tablespoonsfresh lemon juice1 lemon
1/4cuplight brown sugarpacked
1/2teaspoonground cinnamon
2Tablespoonsall-purpose flour
Crumble Topping
1cupall-purpose flour
1cupold-fashioned rolled oats
1cuplight brown sugarpacked
1/2cupunsalted buttercold and cut into pieces
1/2teaspoonbaking powder
1/2teaspooncinnamon
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. I like to use the butter wrapper to grease the baking dish. You can also use nonstick cooking spray.
Peel, core, and cut the apples into slices. Place the apples in a large mixing bowl.
Add the lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour to the apples and toss to combine. Spread the apples in the prepared baking dish.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir to combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon. Add the pieces of butter and use a pastry blender or two forks to “cut in” the butter until a crumble mixture has formed.
Sprinkle the crumble over the apples.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the apple filling is bubbling up and the topping is golden brown.
Notes
1 apple is generally about 1⁄2 pound. We used 6 Granny Smith apples in this recipe.
The crumble amount will generously cover the spread of a 9x13 baking dish. You can reduce the size of the baking dish for a thicker apple filling base, but I would recommend halving the crumble topping ingredients if you use a smaller dish. You could also double the apple filling ingredients and still use a 9x13 baking dish.
Old-fashioned oats are thicker and heartier in this crumble. They give a nice texture and crunch to the crumble. You can substitute quick-cooking oats, if needed.
Grannysmith apples are our go-to for that perfect tart-sweet flavor in apple crumble. However, Jonagold, Honeycrisp, and Gala are great substitutes. Feel free to use the sweeter variety if you prefer, such as Golden or Red Delicious or Fuji.