Cranberry Apple Crisp Recipe with Oatmeal Ginger Snap Topping

This Cranberry Apple Crisp Recipe with Oatmeal Ginger Snap Topping adds a surprisingly easy twist on old fashioned apple crisp!

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Life Lately- Apple Scavengers and Stranger Danger:

(or skip right to the Cranberry Apple Crisp)

While I was peeling and slicing the apples for this Cranberry Apple Crisp Recipe, my girls were sitting on either side of me scavenging for apples. The minute they would finish one slice, they’d immediately ask for more.

We had gone to the public market that morning. J wasn’t thrilled about it, but I conspired with A to get him on board with a market trip, since she’s much harder to say no to than I am. But come on, we live in Rochester. It was set to be in the 70’s that day and for all I knew it could have been frozen tundra the very next day (#badrochesterweatherjoke).

That morning at the market, we started at Flour City Bread Co. to grab some croissants (they have the best croissants in these parts!). We were sitting at a table outside, enjoying the sunshine, while the girls were devouring their croissants in the double stroller.

At one point, T had a large piece of croissant hanging out of her mouth (Aren’t children delightful? I swear we are trying to teach our kids manners!). At that moment this woman- a stranger- was walking by and exclaiming how cute the girls are. T must have taken a bite out of the croissant because the piece fell into her lap. And that very same woman- once again, a stranger- took it upon herself to pick up the piece of croissant from T’s lap and try to give it to her/feed it to her.

Oh my gosh, you guys. I seriously cannot with all of this. Justin and I were trying to nicely tell her no, but she kept right on trying to give it to T until finally J had to physically take it out of her hand.

Can someone please explain to me who these people think they are? Come on. We don’t know you. Don’t touch my child. And especially don’t touch my kid’s food. I thought this was only a thing that happens with newborns. Apparently not.

And now that I’ve gotten way off topic, I’ll get back to my point. When we were at the market, I let A choose which basket of apples to bring home and turn into this very Apple Crisp. So I think that’s part of why she was so excited to get in on those apples that I was slicing. And of course T does whatever A does. Then again, A was all sorts of excited to pick out another basket of apples on our Big Girl Date at Kelly’s Apple Farm (and of course a half dozen apple cider donuts!). So maybe we’re just raising apple lovers!

Cranberry Apple Crisp:

You wanna know something? I considered making this as a pie instead of a crisp. That’s right. After previously crying all the pie tears, I thought about going back in. But then I decided to keep it simple. And stress-free. Because that’s exactly what this dessert is, simple and stress-free. Toss a few things with your apples and cranberries and then into the pan. Cut some butter in with a few other tasty things and sprinkle over your fruit. Bake it off and bam! An excellent and easy seasonal dessert.

Now, I love me some classic Apple Crisp just as much as the next fruity dessert lover. But it’s always fun to shake things up a bit. Tart cranberries break through the sweetness of the apples and sugar (but the sugar and spices help tone down the overall tartness making it much more subtle and enjoyable). To make the topping extra special and a little spicy- not hot spicy but full of great spices- I made this topping with Ginger Snap cookies and oats. Apple Crisp with a Twist!

This came together perfectly in my 9×13 pan (you can go the Pyrex route or something simple in white). It’s helpful to have a food processor to grind the Ginger Snap’s up into fine crumbs, but you could also use a meat mallet or rolling pin. To cut the butter in a fork will work just fine, but if you want it to be a bit easier, a pastry cutter works wonders (I only recently got one and it works wonders!). It’s also helpful to cut the butter into small cubes.

Here’s another one of my favorite apples recipes:

Apple Spice Muffins

Here are a few other apple recipes I love:

2 Ingredient Apple Sauce

Apple Bacon Brie Bites

Bloomin’ Baked Caramel Apples

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