I will never tire of fresh, seasonal fruit crisps.  They’re easy and everyone loves them.  The Amaretti cookies get crushed and swapped in for rolled oats in a classic crisp.  You can swap some pears for apples and add in some fresh cranberries if you like. I found Amaretti cookies at Cost Plus World Market. Try to find the ones that are loose in a bag as opposed to individually wrapped which are more expensive. Double the recipe if you want to cook it in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.

Why You’ll Love This Apple Amaretti Crisp

• Ideal dessert for almond and fruit lovers; 
• Super easy to make;
• The cookie crumbs add such a lovely flavor and crunch to the topping;
• Is there anything more perfect than a warm fresh fruit crisp with some cold vanilla ice cream?

Ingredients

• Fruit – apples, peeled, cored and cut into large wedges; optional to add fresh cranberries 
• Juice – freshly squeezed orange juice, apple juice & lemon juice
• Sugar – this recipe includes different combinations of granulated sugar, brown sugar, and maple sugar for the topping and filling. Keep in mind to adjust the sugar to the sweetness of your apples.
• Flour –  all-purpose or a GF blend for the filling an all-purpose, whole wheat pastry or GF flour blend for the topping
• Spices/extract – cinnamon and almond extract. Almond extract is VERY potent. This recipe only calls for 1/8 teaspoon and you can definitely taste it!
• Amaretti cookies –  look for the ones that are loose in a bag, they are cheaper than the individually wrapped cookies…you are crushing them anyway!
• Butter – make sure your butter is cold and unsalted

How to Make an Apple Amaretti Crisp

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. 
2. In a large bowl, combine the apples with the juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and almond extract. Pour into an ungreased 8 x 8-square or 9-inch round baking dish.
3. Combine the topping ingredients in a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and stir until moist crumbs form. If you want bigger clusters, you can mush some of the crumb pieces together. Arrange the topping over the apples. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan and bake until the topping is golden, the juices are bubbling, and the apples are tender, 50-60 minutes. I like to allow the crisp to sit for at least 1 hour before serving.

Tips

• Almond extract is extremely potent so make sure to measure carefully!
• Crisp topping should not be dusty and dry.  It should be moist but not sticky.
• The crisp topping can be made ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
• You can make this in advance and reheat it by placing the crisp in a 350 F oven for 15 minutes, until warmed through.
• Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream – trust me.

Substitutions

• Apples – can also use pears
• All-purpose flour – GF flour blend works here too 
• Butter – cold unsalted plant butter (I like Miyoko’s)
• Orange juice – apple juice 
• Lemon juice – apple juice
• Amaretti cookies – these contain egg whites, so they’re not vegan. And even though they don’t contain flour, the package says they “may contain traces of gluten, nuts, soy…”  You can swap in an equal amount of old-fashioned rolled oats if you can eat the cookies or if you can’t find them.

Other recipe you may like:

Pumpkin Crisp

Pear-Cranberry Gingersnap Crisp

Apple Fritter Skillet Cake 

Strawberry-Rhubarb Cornmeal Crisp

If you give this Apple Amaretti Crisp a try, snap a pic and tag @pamelasalzman so I can see your beautiful creations. I also really appreciate readers taking the time to leave a rating and review! Subscribe for free to my site for the latest recipes,  updates and things I’m loving lately.  If you enjoy this recipe, I taught it last year in my online class. Check out my online class here!  Give me an hour a month, and I’ll make you a better, healthier cook!