Oatmeal Cookie Apple Crisp

This Oatmeal Cookie Apple Crisp has a simple spiced apple filling, topped with a super easy oatmeal cookie crumble topping! Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream for an outstanding quick dessert.

Let’s talk about one of my favorite things in the world: apple crisp. When people ask me what my favorite dessert is (which is a *serious* question, considering my life essentially revolves around dessert), apple crisp with vanilla ice cream is almost always my answer. Unless I’m in a major chocolate mood, I’m going with the apple crisp.

It’s so simple, and when the apples paired with just the right amount of sweetener and spices, their texture and natural sweetness really shine. I like to use a combination of apple varieties so I get a few different flavors and textures from the apples.

Certain varieties, like Granny Smith apples, are very tart and firm, and they are a favorite of baker’s everywhere because of how well they hold up well in pies, tarts, and crisps.

Other, less firm varieties, like Red Delicious or Mcintosh, break down a lot more during the cooking process. By using a combination of both, you get some firmer apple pieces that have retained their shape rather well, surrounded by flavorful broken down apples, which creates a rich sauce.

For this recipe, I kept the filling super simple: apples, only a little bit of brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. That’s all. No need to overcomplicate things – simple is best here!

Thankfully, the topping is JUST as easy as the filling…and don’t we all really eat crisps and crumbles for that delicious, buttery topping?!

Since I love making my usual apple crisp with an oatmeal topping, I figured making an oatmeal cookie crumble would be even more delicious. With just three ingredients, it couldn’t be easier!

The topping starts with a Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookie Mix from Krusteaz, and instead of preparing the cookie mix as usual, you just add one stick of butter (skipping the egg the mix calls for) and mix it in to create oatmeal cookie crumbles! I opted to add toasted pecans as well, because I love the additional nuttiness and crunch they add to a crisp topping. You could substitute in your nut of choice, or just leave them off if you’re anti-nuts in your desserts.

I baked the crisp in a small baking dish and then served it in little ramekins, but if you want to make individual crisps, you can bake them in the little ramekins from the start! Just make sure you top off each serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream before serving ;) enjoy!