Baked apple dessert with caramelized butter, cinnamon spice, and buttery oat-pecan crumble topping.
Brown the butter slowly over medium heat, watching for the milk solids to turn golden and fragrant (3–4 minutes). Do not let it burn. Toss apples immediately with lemon juice to prevent browning.
For a deeper caramel flavor, use dark brown sugar in the topping instead of light brown sugar. The crisp can be assembled up to 4 hours ahead; cover and refrigerate, then add 5 minutes to bake time.
Ingredients
Scale
Measurement units
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter (divided: 6 tbsp for brown butter, 4 tbsp for topping)
- 6 medium granny smith apples
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar (for apple filling)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- salt (pinch for apple filling, pinch for topping)
- 1 ½ cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup pecans
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients
Scale
Measurement units
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter (divided: 6 tbsp for brown butter, 4 tbsp for topping)
- 6 medium granny smith apples
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar (for apple filling)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- salt (pinch for apple filling, pinch for topping)
- 1 ½ cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup pecans
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Brown the butter
Cut unsalted butter (6 tablespoon) into pieces and place in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Stir occasionally until the milk solids turn golden brown and the butter smells nutty, 3–4 minutes.
Pour the brown butter into a small bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.
Equipment: small saucepan, large mixing bowl, medium mixing bowl
Prepare the apples
Peel, core, and slice 6 medium granny smith apples (6 medium) into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
Place the sliced apples in a large mixing bowl and toss with fresh lemon juice (1 tablespoon) to prevent browning.
Equipment: large mixing bowl, 9-inch round baking dish or 8x8-inch square baking dish, medium mixing bowl
Make the apple filling
Add granulated sugar (3 tablespoon), ground cinnamon (1 teaspoon), ground nutmeg (¼ teaspoon), and a pinch of salt to the apples.
Toss gently until the apples are evenly coated.
Transfer the apple mixture to a 9-inch round baking dish or 8x8-inch square baking dish.
Equipment: 9-inch round baking dish or 8x8-inch square baking dish
Mix the oat-pecan topping
In a medium mixing bowl, combine rolled oats (1 ½ cup), all-purpose flour (¾ cup), 0.75 cup chopped pecans (¾ cup), 0.75 cup packed light brown sugar (¾ cup), and a pinch of salt.
Drizzle the cooled brown butter over the dry ingredients and add vanilla extract (½ teaspoon).
Stir with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized clumps.
Crumble the topping evenly over the apples, leaving some gaps for steam to escape.
Equipment: medium mixing bowl, 9-inch round baking dish or 8x8-inch square baking dish, large mixing bowl
Bake the crisp
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the crisp until the topping is golden brown and the apple filling bubbles at the edges, 35–40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Equipment: oven
Before you cook
Cook notes
- • Brown the butter slowly over medium heat, watching for the milk solids to turn golden and fragrant (3–4 minutes). Do not let it burn.
- • Toss apples immediately with lemon juice to prevent browning.
- • For a deeper caramel flavor, use dark brown sugar in the topping instead of light brown sugar.
- • The crisp can be assembled up to 4 hours ahead; cover and refrigerate, then add 5 minutes to bake time.
- • Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for best texture contrast.
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