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Apple Crisp Baked Apples

Apple crisp baked apples are cored and filled with a brown-sugar cinnamon butter center, then topped with a golden oat crumble and baked until the fruit is tender. Each apple bakes in a small splash of cider for lightly caramelized edges with a crisp, clumpy topping.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Apples
  • 6 medium apples (Honeycrisp or Braeburn) Choose apples that hold their shape when baked.
Crisp filling and topping
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 0.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 0.5 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 0.33 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed Keep cold for a clumpy crumble texture.
Apple cavity filling
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar (for apple cavities)
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon (for apple cavities)
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces (for apple cavities)
Baking dish and serving
  • 0.25 cup apple cider or water (for baking dish)
  • 1 vanilla ice cream Serve warm apples with ice cream.
  • 1 caramel sauce Drizzle over the baked apples at the end.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 baking dish

Method
 

Preheat and prep the baking dish
  1. Preheat oven to 375F and pour apple cider into the bottom of a baking dish.
Core and fill the apples
  1. Core apples from the top, leaving the bottom intact, to create a cavity about 1-1/2 inches wide.
  2. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon for the cavity filling, then place a pinch into each apple followed by a piece of butter.
Make the oat crumble and assemble
  1. Combine rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, then cut in cold butter until clumpy.
  2. Pack the crumble into and over the top of each apple.
Bake and serve
  1. Bake 35-40 minutes, until the apples are tender and the crumble is golden.
  2. Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

Notes

For the best clumpy crumble, keep the butter very cold and avoid overmixing—stop once you get uneven, pea-sized crumbs. Store baked apples covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days; reheat in a 325F oven until warmed through. Freezing is not recommended because the crumble loses crispness. For a lighter option, use reduced-fat butter (or a plant-butter alternative) while keeping the same crumble method.