A combination of Granny Smith apples, frozen dark cherries, and cozy spices like cinnamon and nutmeg make up the base of my Cherry Apple Crisp. The fruit filling is baked underneath a buttery crisp topping with chopped pecans. Serving it with a scoop of ice cream on top is highly suggested, if not mandatory!
A hearty, warm bowl of Cherry Apple Crisp is the perfect ending to any day. And because it's made with frozen dark sweet cherries, you can have it anytime of the year! This dessert can be served for most holidays, from Easter to Juneteenth to Christmas Day.
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $0.30
- Total Cost (about 10 servings): $3.03
- Those Other Guys: $8.99 per serving
Ingredients
- Frozen Dark Sweet Cherries - I love using frozen cherries for this recipe because 1) you don't have to pit them yourself, and 2) you don't have to worry about finding cherries in season! If you substitute for fresh cherries, be sure to pit and roughly chop them.
- Granny Smith Apples - Granny Smiths are perfect baking apples because they still hold up a little bit of their texture even after baking for a while in the oven! You can either peel or leave the skin on.
- Oats - Quick oats are always in our home pantry. You could also use rolled/old fashioned oats.
- Salted Butter - Semi-melted butter is mixed into the dry ingredients to create the crumble texture in our topping.
- Chopped Pecans - For a bit of extra crunch in the crisp topping!
- Brown Sugar - A touch of brown sugar in the crumble topping adds the perfect amount of sweetness.
- Lemon Zest + Juice - For a subtle pop of acidity which works well with the natural sweetness of our berries.
Variations and Substitutions
Other Fruit Crumbles: You can use your favorite type of berries/fruit in this recipe. My Triple Berry Crumble recipe is highly recommended. Other fun flavors would be strawberry, rhubarb, or peach!
Vegan Cherry Apple Crumble: If you're not a fan of consuming butter, try using melted coconut oil to make the crumble topping come together.
An Extra Nutty Topping: This recipe uses pecans, but you can add walnut or almond pieces to the crumble mix! Bake as directed.
How to Make Cherry Apple Crumble
Step 1: Start by mixing together your frozen cherries, chopped apples, all purpose flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and honey.
The honey will seize up because of the fruit's cold temperature; don't worry about that.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, stir together the oats, flour, pecans, both sugars, cinnamon, and salt.
Step 3: Using a fork or dough cutter (or your hands!), stir the semi-melted butter into the dry mix until a crumbly topping forms.
The texture should be slightly damp, like wet sand.
Step 4: To a pie dish, add the fruit filling to the bottom and top with the crisp topping.
Bake at 350℉ for 50-55 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling up on the sides and the crumble topping is golden brown.
Let the crisp cool for at least 5 minutes so the filling will set, then serve warm with some vanilla bean ice cream.
Recipe Pro Tips
- Save some time. If you like eating the apple peel, I suggest skipping the peeling process! Because we bake the pan for so long, the apples and their skins soften significantly.
- Get into it! I've found using your fingers to cut the butter into the crumble topping mix is the best way to get an even consistency. Second place goes to using a pastry cutter.
- Practice patience. I know, it smells fantastic coming straight out of the oven. Still, let your pan cool for at least 5 minutes. This allows the filling to set a bit more, and helps avoid anybody burning their mouth on the hot fruit.
Recipe FAQs
Honestly, either works! Frozen fruit is a lot more convenient and you can use it right out of the bag. You don't have to worry about pitting the cherries or waiting until they are in season.
Fresh fruit is great too, but be sure to pit the cherries and roughly chop them before adding to the filling.
It's up to you! Some people really don't like apple peels; and for them, I say peel the apples.
I've tested this recipe with fully peeled apples, half and half, and apples with 100% of the skin on. Because we bake them for so long, the skin softens up and you can't even tell (in my opinion!) when you're taking a bite. The peel has tons of fiber and nutrients as well - just to make this dessert a little better for your gut.
I haven't personally tested it, but I don't see why not. It should be a 1:1 ratio. If you make that substitution, please let me know how it turned out in the comments!
It could be because of your dry ingredient to fat ratio.
To fix this, you can take the dish out of the oven and pour some melted butter or coconut oil on top. Using a fork, lightly stir the topping to evenly distribute.
Then, pat it down and bake for another 5-8 minutes. The crumble topping should be more "crumbly" and less dry.
Other Fruity Desserts You'll Love!
If you tried this Cherry Apple Crisp Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
Cherry Apple Crisp
Equipment
- Vegetable Peeler
- Chef's Knife
- 2 Mixing Bowls
- Microplane
- Citrus Squeezer
- Pastry Cutter optional - could also use a fork
- Ceramic Baking Dish
Ingredients
Fruit Filling
- 1 ½ cups Granny Smith apples peeled (optional) and chopped
- 3 cups frozen dark sweet cherries pitted
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ count lemon zest and juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
Crumble Topping
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter semi-melted
Instructions
- To begin, wash and chop your apples into small pieces.You can peel the apples, or leave the skins on for extra fiber - they will soften during the baking process.1 ½ cups Granny Smith apples
- In a large bowl, pour in the chopped apples and frozen cherries.Add in the flour, honey, the zest and juice from ½ a lemon, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir thoroughly and set aside.3 cups frozen dark sweet cherries, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons honey, ½ count lemon, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl, mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, chopped pecans, cinnamon, and salt.1 cup quick oats, 1 cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup chopped pecans, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt
- Preheat your oven to 350℉.
- Slightly melt the butter in the microwave - there should still be some big chunks of butter that are whole.Add the semi-melted butter to your dry ingredients. The mixture should be slightly moist and resemble wet sand, with small clumps.½ cup unsalted butter
- Use a fork to slightly smash the cherries into smaller pieces.Pour the fruit filling mix into a pie dish or baking dish.
- Top the fruit with the crisp topping. Slightly press the topping down using the back of a spoon; it doesn't have to be perfectly even.
- Bake, uncovered, for 50 - 55 minutes. You'll know it's ready when the fruit layer is bubbling around the edges and the crumble topping is golden brown.
- Let the pan rest for at least 5 minutes so the filling can set and slightly cool down.
- Serve on its own, or with vanilla bean ice cream on top. Enjoy!
Ty'Kea Samuels says
So bomb!! The cherries add a nice flavor that normal crumbles don't have!
Shani W. says
Thank you Ty'Kea! I appreciate your review 🙂