Comments on: apple cranberry crisp

By: Catherine

Catherine — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:06:40 +0000

I made this last night and it is pretty good, but I’d make a couple of adjustments.

–I left out all the white sugar and I think it’s a little tart. At first I thought if I made it again I’d add a little white sugar back in, but then I thought–

–instead I might follow my normal crisp practice and use sweeter apples instead of the granny smiths. I was so worried about the sugar levels that I used the GSes instead of the normal mix of farmers’ market apples that I generally use in plain apple crisps, and I think it was a mistake. GSes are kind of boring and flavorless, so I felt that the cranberries kind of dominated–more apple-y apples would add more sugar and also more apple flavor to the end result.

–finally, I agree with the above commentor that there’s way too much topping. I used an 8×8 2 qt pyrex dish, so a little less surface area than the recipe calls for, but still, next I think next time I’ll either halve the recipe, or freeze half.

By: Sengkelat

Sengkelat — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:57:59 +0000

I made this for a dinner party last night. I was worried that the pepper would be a bit weird, but it was perfect. The dessert was a hit. I was going to leave out the white sugar, but got nervous at the last minute and added 1/8 cup.
One of the guests even said that he liked that it wasn’t too sweet; he called it a dessert for adults.

By: maggie

maggie — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:38:11 +0000

@blithe: Maybe it really did raise her “shackles” rather than her hackles … Perhaps she’s chained to the radiator in her apartment!

By: erin

erin — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 04:47:46 +0000

i used 1/4 cup white sugar in the filling and it was a bit too sweet, i will leave it out completely next time. i also had a lot of left over topping! i prefer a dusting as opposed to a crust, so that might explain it.

By: Mireille

Mireille — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 22:22:02 +0000

Hi Deb,
I tried this recipe and omitted the 1/3 cup white sugar. It tastes perfect without it.

Thanks for sharing this recipe!!!

By: Tintex

Tintex — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:54:31 +0000

I make apple cranberry crisp that’s derived from the apple crisp recipe in Joy of Cooking. The filling is nothing but apples and cranberries (have to try the black pepper — sounds wonderful) and I replace the white sugar in the topping with brown. The topping as I make it is flour, brown sugar, butter and nutmeg. It’s just sweet enough for me. I like desserts that have complex flavors and some depth.

By: Anna

Anna — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:58:56 +0000

I’m de-lurking after more than a year for this! :)

I omitted the white sugar from the filling entirely. It’s perfect. (My co-workers are making happy noises, anyway.)

I did, however, have WAY too much topping — and I like extra topping on my crisp. (I put about half in the freezer until I can make another one.) What gives?

By: Sarai

Sarai — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 17:46:02 +0000

I made this last night with the reduced white sugar. It was delicious, and I especially liked the anise flavor, but I do think it could’ve done with less sugar. Next time! Also, like Monique, mine looked more like the photo on epicurious.

By: laceflower

laceflower — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:38:38 +0000

I’m delurking, was just looking for an opportunity because it’s just rude of me to enjoy so many of your recipes and not say Thank You. My DH and I have been enjoying at least one of your recipes a week since April 2007 when I found your Blog. The Apple Cranberry Crisp looked like a good candidate for a fruit filled breadfast dish on workday mornings or mid morning snack for those rushing out the door. I eliminated all the white sugar in the fruit mixture and we still found it too sweet. I’d cut the brown sugar down to 1/2 or 1/3 cup as the total amount. It’s hard to tell how tart those little cranbabies are going to be!
Have a wonderful, warm vacation and thank you for sharing your cooking life with us.
Laceflower in the Canadian Pacific Northwest, the WetCoast.

By: DaviMack

DaviMack — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 12:13:12 +0000

Everybody seems to be afraid of a little tartness in their tarts, which is downright odd! I don’t know if this one’s Michael’s fault … but having watched his show a few times, I’m going to say that it probably is.