These Crisp-Topped Baked Apples Are Easier Than Pie—and Just as Good

Why It Works

Slicing the top half-inch off the apples creates a wide, flat surface for the crispy crumble topping to rest on.
A filling of cinnamon-sugar, butter, and a squeeze of lemon juice melts together to create a sweet, gooey filling.
Baking the apples in a small amount of water keeps them plump and juicy and prevents the bottoms from sticking and burning.

Each September, when I begin to feel a chill in the air, I know it’s time to make the season’s first apple crisp. The warm tumble of gooey, cinnamon-scented apple slices, topped with a crispy pecan streusel, tastes like all the best parts of autumn—and it requires only a fraction of the time it would take to make a pie. (No chilling or rolling required!) As simple as apple crisp is, sometimes I just don’t have the energy for all that peeling and slicing. My solution: Skip the crisp and just bake the apples whole.

Apples make excellent vessels for baking, especially when you carve out their cores, fill them with cinnamon sugar and butter, and scatter a crispy crumble over the top. What you’re left with is an individual-sized apple crisp: an easy dessert that feels special even on an ordinary weeknight.

Choosing the Best Apples

No single apple is the best for baking, but some varieties do hold up better than others. In this recipe, the apple itself becomes the baking vessel, so you want a variety that retains its shape and some texture even after a long bake. Use the wrong kind of apple, and it will simply turn to mush.

When former Serious Eats editor Kenji tested which apple varieties work best for pie, he found that Golden Delicious and Braeburn struck a good balance between firm texture and bold apple flavor. I tested with Granny Smith apples, which retain their texture better than most varieties, as well as Honeycrisp and Pink Lady apples, which are widely available and often recommended for baking.

All three varieties turned out delicious, but I especially loved the baked Honeycrisps. This surprised me, as I usually prefer the tartness of Granny Smith apples. The Honeycrisps stayed firm and plump in the oven, and their natural sweetness was a real advantage. Unlike in a pie or crumble, where apple slices are tossed with sugar and spices, only the hollowed-out center of these whole apples comes into contact with the filling. For that reason, I found Granny Smiths, which I adore in pies, a bit too tart and one-dimensional when baked whole, while Honeycrisps had just the right balance of firm texture and sweetness.

Serious Eats / Melati Citrawireja

Upgrade Your Baked Apples With a Simple Crumble

A crumble topping is a low-effort way to give this fruity dessert a serious upgrade. Making one requires almost no technique or baking knowledge: Just combine flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon in a bowl, toss everything together with your hands, and you have your topping ready to go.

To keep the mixture crumbly, avoid overworking it, which can compress it into a single cohesive mass that becomes a cookie-like shell instead of a loose topping. If the weather is warm or your butter is especially soft, you may end up with a ball of dough rather than a bowl of crumbs. Don’t panic—simply refrigerate the mixture until firm, then re-crumble it using your fingers.

Preparing Your Apples

When testing this recipe, I initially piled the crumble on top of the whole apples and struggled to get enough of the crumble to stick without it simply falling off. To give the crumble a flat surface to sit on, I sliced and removed the top half-inch of each apple.

I also removed the core so I could fill it with butter, sugar, and spices.
You want to remove the core but leave about a half-inch of flesh at the bottom of the apple, creating a cup-like shape that holds filling so that it doesn’t simply run out of the bottom. Use a small paring knife and slowly cut at an angle around the edges to remove the top of the core. Once you remove this piece, use a knife or a small spoon to create a slight hollow in the apple. Continue scraping until the woody core is removed, and you’ll have an opening approximately 1 1/2 inches wide in the center of the apple.

For the filling, I opted for a simple cinnamon-sugar mixture, a pat of butter, and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice for added acidity. As the apples bake, their juices mix with the sugar and butter, forming a sweet molten sauce that oozes out when the apple is cut into—excellent for scooping over vanilla ice cream. The crumble mixture is placed right on top and emerges from the oven as a crispy, crunchy crown—the perfect contrast to the tender apples below.

Serious Eats / Melati Citrawireja

For Plump and Juicy Apples, Add a Bit of Water to the Pan

Once your apples are fully assembled, they’re ready to be transferred to an oven-safe dish and baked until tender. Pour about 1/2 inch of water into the bottom of the pan to help prevent the apples from burning or sticking to the pan, while also keeping them plump and juicy. You’ll know they’re done when the apples are easily pierced with the tip of a knife and are tender, yet still slightly firm. If you prefer a softer, more applesauce-like texture, you can continue cooking the apples for an additional 10 minutes (just be careful not to overcook them, or they may turn into actual applesauce).

While it may be tempting to dig in right away, these apples actually taste better when warm or at room temperature, so let them cool for 10 to 15 minutes if you can wait. Serve with something cold and creamy, such as a dollop of whipped cream, a drizzle of eggy custard, or a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.