Spiced Baked Apple Crumb Recipe

Have you ever wondered what the difference was between an apple crisp and an apple crumb? The main difference is the use of oats or flour, where a crisp uses oats, and a crumb uses flour. This recipe brought to us by wellness coach Miriam Hahn is a wonderful year-round dessert that tends to be a fall favorite. "My favorite thing about this recipe is how delicious, and versatile it is," Hahn shares. "You can serve it for brunch, a luncheon, a dinner party, the holidays, and it even packs well in a lunch box." We think it goes especially well with this baked butternut squash stuffed shells recipe or this chicken piccata recipe for a well-rounded holiday spread. You can also add it to your running list of easy desserts that can be made ahead.

You can also make this recipe gluten-free or vegan by using gluten-free flour and dairy-free butter. For a healthier version, Hahn says you can replace the brown sugar with coconut sugar. Any way you slice it, this is a delicious dessert.

The apples are front and center here in the ingredients list. Hahn prefers using Honeycrisp, but this crumb works well with Gala or Fuji apples also, so feel free to branch out. You will also need brown sugar, all-purpose flour, lemon juice, apple pie spice, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and butter. Hahn likes to take shortcuts in the spice department, so she is using the all-in-one apple pie spice instead of measuring out allspice, cardamom, ginger, and nutmeg. She tells us to use ¼ teaspoon of each if you don't have apple pie spice on hand. "Apple pie spice also has cinnamon in it, but I like to get a double dose of that so I am adding that separately as well," Hahn remarks.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. To prepare the apples, Hahn likes to trim off the top ¼-inch of the apple top and bottom before peeling. "Working with a straight edge when peeling is quicker and easier," Hahn tells us. Once the apples are peeled, dice them into ½-inch chunks, and put them in a medium bowl. Add ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup flour, lemon juice, ½ teaspoon apple pie spice, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon salt. You will be using a lot of these same ingredients in the topping, so keep them out for later. Give the mixture a stir, and pour it into a 9-x 12-inch baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

To make the tasty crumb topping, combine the remaining brown sugar, flour, apple pie spice, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Hahn uses a Danish whisk to help work through any clumps. Add the melted butter, and continue to whisk until the mixture is crumbly. Then, layer it on top of the apple mixture in the baking dish.

Pop your baking dish into the oven, and cook for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let it cool for about 20 minutes before serving. This crumb is wonderful on its own, or topped with whipped cream or ice cream. It is also nice to sprinkle on some extra apple pie spice or cinnamon. If you have leftovers, they will last for up to 5 days in a sealed container in the fridge. You can enjoy leftovers warmed up or cold.