Chef John Apple Crisp Recipes

APPLE CRUMBLE COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x12-inch baking dish generously.
• Whisk flour, sea salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a bowl. Set aside.
• Combine walnuts, brown sugar, white sugar, salt, cinnamon, and melted butter in a bowl. Mix until walnuts and sugar are thoroughly coated with butter.
• Cream butter and sugar together in another bowl with a spatula until well blended. Add 1 egg and whisk until mixture is smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in second egg until thoroughly incorporated. Add vanilla extract and yogurt; whisk together. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients; whisk just until flour disappears. Do not overmix.
• Remove cores from apples. Cut across into 1/8- to 1/4-inch slices. Stack up a few slices, make 1 cut down the center, and dice across into cubes. Add to cake batter, folding in with a spatula until just combined.
• Spread 1/2 of the batter evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Scatter 1/2 of the crumble mixture evenly over the top. Top with the rest of the batter in dollops. Spread carefully to evenly distribute, trying not to disturb the crumbs. Top with the rest of the crumb mixture. Press crumbs into the batter very gently.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until a toothpick or bamboo skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before slicing and serving.

CRISPIEST APPLE CRISP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Toss sliced apples with lemon juice to prevent browning.
• Mix flour, rolled oats, wheat and barley nugget cereal, melted butter, 1/4 cup white sugar, and 1/4 cup brown sugar together in a large bowl.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup white sugar, and cinnamon into melted butter until sugar begins to dissolve, 3 to 4 minutes. Add apples and water; continue cooking and stirring until apples soften and are coated with sauce, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Pour apples and sugar mixture into a 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle topping evenly over the apple filling.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top is browned and the filling is bubbling up around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes.

THE BEST APPLE CRISP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• For the filling: Whisk together the brown sugar, flour, apple cider, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. Peel and core the apples and cut into chunks. Add the apples to the brown sugar mixture and toss to combine.
• Transfer the apple mixture to the prepared baking dish in an even layer.
• For the topping: Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter cubes and use your fingers to completely work the butter into the flour mixture. The mixture should hold its shape when squeezed.
• Sprinkle the crumble topping over the filling, squeezing some of the mixture into small clumps. Bake until the filling is bubbly, the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown, about 1 hour.
• Let sit for at least 45 minutes and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

CHEF JOHN'S APPLE FRITTERS

Steps:

• Melt butter over medium-high heat and cook until it turns golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add apples and cook over medium-high heat until apples just begin to soften around the edges, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle in 1 tablespoon sugar and continue cooking another 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain in a strainer; let cool to room temperature.
• Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg together in a mixing bowl until well combined.
• Whisk egg, 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter together in a separate mixing bowl. Add cooled apple pieces and sparkling apple cider; add the flour mixture. Stir just until flour is incorporated.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spoon about 2 tablespoons batter per fritter, into hot oil, slightly flattening them out. Cook in batches. Fry on one side until small bubbles appear on the surface, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip fritters over and fry the other side until richly browned, about 2 more minutes.
• Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain grease. Cool slightly before glazing.
• Whisk powdered sugar and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Add enough apple cider, 1 teaspoon at a time, to form a smooth glaze that is just runny enough to drizzle over fritters.

CHEF JOHN'S EASY APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in white sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and water. Bring the syrup to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar, then remove from heat.
• Unroll pie crusts, press one into a 9-inch pie dish, and place the apples into the crust. Unroll the second crust on a work surface, and cut into about 8 1-inch wide strips. Criss-cross the strips over the apples, or weave into a lattice crust. Crimp the bottom crust over the lattice strips with your fingers. Spoon caramel sauce over pie, covering lattice portion of top crust; let remaining sauce drizzle through the crust.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake until the crust is golden brown, the caramel on the top crust is set, and the apple filling is bubbling, 35 to 40 more minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

CHEF JOHN'S APPLE DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Butter a baking dish.
• Combine brown sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, and water in a small pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil until all sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat and swirl pot gently to combine. Reserve sauce until needed.
• Stir sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Core the unpeeled apples.
• Divide pie dough into 4 portions. Roll out on a lightly floured surface into 4 circles about 1/8-inch thick and 7 inches in diameter, or large enough to fully wrap an apple.
• Place apples in the center of each round of dough. Spoon about 3 teaspoons of cinnamon sugar into the apple cores; fill each hole with a teaspoon of butter.
• Wrap each apple up in pie dough, sealing the dough together at the top. Be careful not to pull and stretch it too tightly around the apple as you wrap, or it might break apart when it bakes; brush lightly with water if dough won't stick together. Even out the top and trim off any excess; shape into decorative leaves if desired.
• Place wrapped apples seam-side up into the buttered baking dish. Ladle some sauce over each to cover completely.
• Bake in the preheated oven, basting with sauce occasionally, until pastry is browned and cooked through and apples are tender, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and baste with more sauce. Serve warm.