Apple or Pear Crisp

Name: Apple or Pear Crisp
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients: 6 cups peeled, cored, sliced apples or ripe pears, 2 to 3 pounds; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or more to taste; 1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons; 5 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing the pan; 3/4 cup oats; 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans

By Mark Bittman

Updated Nov. 13, 2023

Apple or Pear Crisp — Jessica Marx for The New York Times

Total Time: 1 hour
Rating: 4(3,830)
Comments: Read comments

I don't know why anyone would make a pie instead of a crisp. A crisp, most often made with apples but accommodating of almost any fruit, is better textured, better flavored and easier to make. If you choose to use pears instead of apples, be aware that unripe pears are unlikely to become tender in the time it takes the topping to brown. You must begin with pears that have started to soften, or their texture will remain unpleasantly firm.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

6cups peeled, cored, sliced apples or ripe pears, 2 to 3 pounds
½teaspoon cinnamon, or more to taste
½cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
5tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing the pan
¾cup oats
½cup walnuts or pecans

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss fruit with half the cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar, and spread it in a lightly buttered 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan.
Step 2
Combine remaining cinnamon and sugar in container of a food processor with butter, oats and nuts; pulse a few times, just until ingredients are combined. (Do not purée.) To mix ingredients by hand, soften butter slightly, toss together dry ingredients and work butter in with fingertips, a pastry blender or a fork.
Step 3
Spread topping over apples, and bake about 40 minutes, until topping is browned and apples are tender. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Ratings

4 out of 5

3,830 user ratings

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Comments

t7 years ago

This has been my go-to dessert recipe for years. Simple and delicious. I use version in Mark B's How to Cook Everything. It calls for 2/3 brown (not white) sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats. Have never tried with nuts. The recipe is very accommodating. Memorize a ratio of roughly 1:1:1 dry ingreds. per 6 cups fruit, and you are set. I've also made it with other fruits and fruit combos, even undefrosted frozen fruits. If you use watery fruits, toss them with a little cornstarch or flour.

christine C7 years ago

A few things to change --- 1. Add salt into the crust. Salt is a necessary ingredient in baked goods to amp up the other flavors. 2. This recipe does not provide enough crust to cover even an 8x8" pan of crisp. I doubled the oats and pecans, and added 3 tablespoons of flour, salt, more cinnamon and a sprinkle of nutmeg, and only 1 more tablespoon of butter. That made enough crisp topping for an 8x8" crisp.

Su7 years ago

I love apple crisp, but it's leaps and bounds more interesting made with brown rather than white sugar.

gibby2 months ago

I followed advice given here to substitute brown sugar. But I have an additional piece of advice. DO NOT USE A NON-STICK BAKING PAN for this. You want some carmelization on the bottom of the crisp. Mine was tasty, but a tad on the soggy side.

AJ3 months ago

no salt?

Deborah Fortel3 months ago

Double the cinnamon. Use several varieties of apples Delicious!8

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