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Kids Apple Crisp

By America's Test Kitchen Kids

Published on January 4, 2023

Time

1¼ hours, plus cooling time

Yield

Serves 8

What Kids Are Saying

“It was so delicious. The mix of apples and crumbles tasted like the BEST FOOD EVER!” —Emma, recipe tester, age 10

Kids Apple Crisp

Ingredients

⅔ cup (3⅓ ounces/94 grams) all-purpose flour ½ cup (1½ ounces/43 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats ¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces/50 grams) light brown sugar ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar 2 teaspoons cornstarch ⅛ teaspoon table salt 2 pounds (907 grams) Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-­inch pieces

Before You Begin

Be sure to use old-fashioned rolled oats in this recipe. Don’t use quick, instant, or extra-­thick rolled oats. We like Golden Delicious apples in our crisp because they are sweet and keep their shape during baking, but you can use any sweet, crisp apple for this recipe, such as Honeycrisp or Braeburn. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-­middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In medium bowl, use rubber spatula to stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Drizzle melted butter over oat mixture and toss with fork or your fingers until mixture comes together (see photo 1, “Step-by-Step: Making a Crisp Topping,” below).
  3. In large bowl, use rubber spatula to stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add apples to bowl with cornstarch mixture and toss to coat.
  4. Use rubber spatula to scrape apple mixture into 8-­inch square baking dish. Crumble oat topping into pea-size clumps and sprinkle oat topping evenly over apple mixture (see photo 2, “Step-by-Step: Making a Crisp Topping,” below).
  5. Place baking dish in oven. Bake until filling is bubbling around edges and topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes.
  6. Use oven mitts to remove baking dish from oven and place on cooling rack (ask an adult for help). Let apple crisp cool on rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Kids Apple Crisp
Photography by Daniel J. van Ackere. Styling by Elle Simone.

Time

1¼ hours, plus cooling time

Yield

Serves 8

What Kids Are Saying

“It was so delicious. The mix of apples and crumbles tasted like the BEST FOOD EVER!” —Emma, recipe tester, age 10

Ingredients

⅔ cup (3⅓ ounces/94 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (1½ ounces/43 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces/50 grams) light brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon table salt
2 pounds (907 grams) Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-­inch pieces

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

⅔ cup (3⅓ ounces/94 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (1½ ounces/43 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces/50 grams) light brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon table salt
2 pounds (907 grams) Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-­inch pieces

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

⅔ cup (3⅓ ounces/94 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (1½ ounces/43 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces/50 grams) light brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon table salt
2 pounds (907 grams) Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-­inch pieces

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

Apple crisp is delicious any time of year, but it’s especially a-peel-ing in the fall! For an oat topping that’s hearty but not too tough or chewy, we use old-fashioned rolled oats ( sometimes called regular oats). These are whole oats that have been steamed and then rolled flat. Kids might be familiar with some other varieties of oats, such as quick oats, instant oats, and steel cut oats. Quick oats are similar to old-fashioned oats, they’re just rolled even thinner. They get their name because they cook, well, more quickly! Instant oats are cooked and then dehydrated, so they don’t need any more cooking, just hot water. And steel cut oats are sliced by big blades and have a nubbly texture. Ask your young chef to examine the old fashioned oats before making the oat topping for their apple crisp. What do they notice about their shape and texture? If you have another type of oats at home, have kids observe how they’re similar and different. 

Before You Begin

Be sure to use old-fashioned rolled oats in this recipe. Don’t use quick, instant, or extra-­thick rolled oats. We like Golden Delicious apples in our crisp because they are sweet and keep their shape during baking, but you can use any sweet, crisp apple for this recipe, such as Honeycrisp or Braeburn. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-­middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In medium bowl, use rubber spatula to stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Drizzle melted butter over oat mixture and toss with fork or your fingers until mixture comes together (see photo 1, “Step-by-Step: Making a Crisp Topping,” below).
  3. In large bowl, use rubber spatula to stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add apples to bowl with cornstarch mixture and toss to coat.
  4. Use rubber spatula to scrape apple mixture into 8-­inch square baking dish. Crumble oat topping into pea-size clumps and sprinkle oat topping evenly over apple mixture (see photo 2, “Step-by-Step: Making a Crisp Topping,” below).
  5. Place baking dish in oven. Bake until filling is bubbling around edges and topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes.
  6. Use oven mitts to remove baking dish from oven and place on cooling rack (ask an adult for help). Let apple crisp cool on rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.

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