Insanely simple yet irresistibly delicious, this Crisp Topping seems almost too good to be true. Lucky for us, it's not. Made with oats and plenty of butter, this sweet and crunchy topping works great for literally any fruit crisp recipe!
Fruit crisps are such a handy thing to have up your sleeve. They work for any time of the year and are truly a crowd-pleaser! Use this topping over your fruit of choice and you are good to go for your next potluck, barbecue, or holiday gathering.
If you're looking for more awesome crumble desserts to try, save our easy peach cobbler or pear cobbler for next time!
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Crisp vs. Crumble
A crisp is a specific type of crumble. The term "crumble" encompasses any dessert with a crumb topping, but when we use the word crisp, we are directly implying there is going to be a crumbly oat topping.
Crisp toppings always contain whole oats, also known as old-fashioned or rolled oats.
If you need some inspiration for what to use this topping on, try our peach or cherry crisps! You can also use a crisp topping on a pie as we do with this Dutch apple pie recipe. It's perfection!
Crisp Topping Ingredients
- Light Brown Sugar
- All-Purpose Flour
- Ground Cinnamon (optional)
- Old-Fashioned Oats or Rolled Oats
- Fine Sea Salt
- Butter
How to Make a Crisp Topping
You can use this crisp topping for all the heavy-hitter fruit crisps. Apple, strawberry, blueberry, peach...you name it. This crisp topping will work on top of it.
Add Ingredients + Combine | Combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon (if using), old-fashioned oats, and sea salt in a medium bowl. Then, use a whisk or fork to stir and combine these ingredients together.
Add Butter | Cut the butter into small cubes and sprinkle it over the top of your flour mixture.
Mix Together | The easiest way to mix the butter into your dry ingredients is to use your fingertips. Begin rubbing the butter and the dry ingredients together, continuing until all of the elements appear moistened and no longer dry.
Your crisp topping is ready to use when no sandy patches remain and it holds together when you pinch it.
Try this topping on our easy blueberry crisp. You won't regret it!
Best Baking Dishes for Crisps
As far as baking dishes go, you have options. Any small baking dish with a 1.5-to 2-quart-capacity will work.
I prefer an au gratin or rectangular dish due to the increased surface area. The added surface area means your crisp topping-to-fruit filling ratio goes up. So, if you're in it for the crisp topping (more so than the filling), this is probably the route for you.
A square, 8x8" baking dish also works great. If you're super keen on that fruit filling and the crisp topping is just a little side bonus, I recommend this pan for you!
Basic Fruit Crisp Recipe
To make just about any fruit crisp on the planet, all you need is this secret sauce crisp recipe format. For the filling, you'll need:
- Fruit | Berries, apples, peaches, apricots... The sky is the limit here. Just be sure to chop or slice accordingly. More on that below.
- Granulated Sugar
- Cornstarch
- Lemon Juice
- Salt
Once you have your fruit picked out and prepped, add it to a large mixing bowl along with the granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt. Stir until the fruit is coated in the sugar mixture, and it's time to assemble!
Once you have your pan ready and greased, as well as the fruit filling and crisp topping prepared, it's time to assemble and bake!
Add the fruit filling to your prepared pan, crumble the topping over, and bake at 375°F for about 30 minutes.
Allow the crisp to cool for about 15-20 minutes before serving. Serve with either a gigantic scoop of vanilla ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream, or a drizzle of creme Anglaise.
About the Fruit
Small berries do not require much preparation. However, larger fruits like rhubarb, strawberries, apples, pears, plums, apricots, and peaches should either be roughly chopped or sliced so they can cook through in the allotted bake time.
You also have the option of using fresh fruit or frozen fruit that has been thawed. Make sure that if you use frozen fruit, you allow it to thaw all the way through and let the excess juices drain before using.
For an Apple Crisp
Because of their crispy, crunchy nature, apples, in particular, should be cut into small 1" cubes. If the apple pieces are too large, your crisp topping will brown before the apples have a chance to cook through fully.
5 More Crumble Recipes You'll Love
Crisp Topping
Ingredients
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- Scant ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- ⅓ cup room temperature, unsalted butter, cut into ½" cubes
Instructions
- Add the brown sugar, flour, oats, salt, and ground cinnamon (if using) to a medium-sized bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Scatter the butter across the top of the mixture. Rub the butter into the flour mixture using your fingertips until it is well-mixed and no longer appears dry.
Nutrition
Source: The Kitchn | How To Make Any Fruit Crisp in 4 Easy Steps
Amber says
Best crisp topping I've ever had. Just the right amount of sweetness, but loved the salt that came through too. Saving this recipe!
Kelly Anthony says
Thank you, Amber! So much!!! 🙂
Adrianna says
Not only do I use this on my blueberry and apple crisps…but I bake this crisp topping solo to put on my yogurt! So good!
Kelly Anthony says
That is next level yogurt!!!! YUM! Thank you, Adrianna!