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Small Batch Baking
Recipe
1 hr

Skillet Apple Crisp for Two

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Skillet Apple Crisp for Two

Apple crisp invites a devil-may-care attitude: Slice up any old apples, sprinkle on a topping, and bake. But the end result is greater than the sum of its parts.

Time

1 hr

Yield

Serves 2

Why This Recipe Works

Most apple crisp recipes yield unevenly cooked fruit and an unremarkable topping. We wanted an exemplary apple crisp—a lush (but not mushy) sweet-tart apple filling covered with truly crisp morsels of buttery, sugary topping. Our first few crisps contained unevenly cooked apples lacking any fruity punch. Stirring the fruit helped solve the texture problem, but reaching into a hot oven to do so was a hassle. Instead, we softened the apples on the stovetop—in a skillet. The shallow, flared pan also encouraged evaporation, browning, and better flavor overall. To improve the flavor further, we turned to apple cider, reducing it to a syrupy consistency. As for the topping, we added brown sugar to white to play up the apples’ caramel notes, and swapped out some flour for rolled oats to give the topping character and chew. Chopped pecans not only improved the crunch factor, but added rich flavor as well. After a few minutes in the oven, our crisp was just that.

Ingredients

Topping

¼ cup (1¼ ounces) all-purpose flour
¼ cup pecans, chopped fine
¼ cup (¾ ounce) old-fashioned rolled oats
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling

1½ pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, halved, and cut into ½-inch-thick wedges
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
½ cup apple cider
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

Cook along with these step-by-step instructions

step 1 imagestep 2 imagestep 3 imagestep 4 image

    Topping

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine flour, pecans, oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl. Stir in melted butter until mixture is thoroughly moistened and crumbly; set aside.

    2. Filling

  2. In separate bowl, toss apples, sugar, and cinnamon, if using, together; set aside. Bring cider to simmer in 8-inch ovensafe skillet over medium heat and cook until reduced to ⅓ cup, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer reduced cider to small bowl and stir in lemon juice.
    Recipe Tip
    We like Golden Delicious apples for this recipe, but any sweet, crisp apple such as Honeycrisp or Braeburn can be substituted; do not use Granny Smith apples.
  3. Melt butter in now-empty skillet over medium heat. Add apple mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until apples begin to soften and become translucent, 12 to 14 minutes. (Do not fully cook apples.) Off heat, gently stir in cider mixture until apples are coated.
  4. Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit, breaking up any large chunks. Place skillet on baking sheet and bake until fruit is tender and topping is deep golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let crisp cool on wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.
    Recipe Tip
    If your skillet is not ovensafe, prepare the recipe through step 3 and then transfer the filling to an 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan; add the topping and bake as directed.

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Skillet Apple Crisp for Two

Recipe By

Published on August 27, 2026

Time

1 hr

Yield

Serves 2

Skillet Apple Crisp for Two

Ingredients

Topping

¼ cup (1¼ ounces) all-purpose flour¼ cup pecans, chopped fine¼ cup (¾ ounce) old-fashioned rolled oats3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar1 tablespoon granulated sugar¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon¼ teaspoon salt3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling

1½ pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, halved, and cut into ½-inch-thick wedges2 tablespoons granulated sugar¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)½ cup apple cider1 teaspoon lemon juice1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

    Topping

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine flour, pecans, oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl. Stir in melted butter until mixture is thoroughly moistened and crumbly; set aside.

    2. Filling

  2. In separate bowl, toss apples, sugar, and cinnamon, if using, together; set aside. Bring cider to simmer in 8-inch ovensafe skillet over medium heat and cook until reduced to ⅓ cup, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer reduced cider to small bowl and stir in lemon juice.
    Recipe Tip
    We like Golden Delicious apples for this recipe, but any sweet, crisp apple such as Honeycrisp or Braeburn can be substituted; do not use Granny Smith apples.
  3. Melt butter in now-empty skillet over medium heat. Add apple mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until apples begin to soften and become translucent, 12 to 14 minutes. (Do not fully cook apples.) Off heat, gently stir in cider mixture until apples are coated.
  4. Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit, breaking up any large chunks. Place skillet on baking sheet and bake until fruit is tender and topping is deep golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let crisp cool on wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.
    Recipe Tip
    If your skillet is not ovensafe, prepare the recipe through step 3 and then transfer the filling to an 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan; add the topping and bake as directed.
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