Check out my newest VIDEO on how to make this fun dessert: So confession: I’m not an apple pie person. I was a junior in high school before I ever even had apple pie. (My mom wasn’t anti-dessert. She just wasn’t a baker and it wasn’t something at our holiday table.) So, my high school math teacher found out I’d never had apple pie — long back-story there, so just go with it — and she decided to make me one. Because hers was amazing. And it was. It was delicious! I’ll never be able to eat a short-cut apple pie after knowing how good the real thing is.
But still, I wasn’t really a convert. You’ll never see me order apple pie at a restaurant and I just can’t get that excited about it, even in the fall when I’m ALL about apple everything. But an apple crisp? That calls to me. I love any kind of crisp, really. I make a delicious individual peach and blueberry crumble in the summertime with the fresh fruit and we literally cannot get enough. All year long, really, I use whatever fruit is seasonal, add that amazing crumb topping and we dive in. With ice cream, of course. (And shh, sometimes with Greek yogurt for breakfast ;)) So for my ALL-APPLES-ALL-FALL tribute we’ve been having here on the blog — check out my homemade applesauce with fruit add-ins, my sautéed chicken and apples with rosemary and my easy slow cooker apple butter with no sugar added — I knew I had to make an apple version of one of my favorite desserts.
But I also wanted to get a little creative with it, make it a little more interesting, a little more fun. So I used apple slices, topped them with the crumble and stacked them up. Baked them off then stacked ‘em up again. And added ice cream. #winning Easy healthy apple crisp stacks. It’s kind-of like a stacked up crustless apple pie. It’s kind-of like a deconstructed apple crisp tower. It’s kind-of like a skinny version of baked apples, made a little crazy. And it’s kind-of like delicious. And so quick and easy!
I love that I can just do a single apple and make a treat for the kids. Or just do one or two for a late-night snack for the hubs and I. (Or maybe just one all for myself in the morning when everyone’s out the door!) And when I’m feeling really indulgent? I just stack them higher and dig in!
I use a sharp knife and slice right through the core. Then I remove the inner circle. See the video above for a visual. I make my slices a hefty ¼-inch thick. They get completely cooked through in the oven but still hold their basic shape to be able to stack them up. I’m white whole wheat flour kinda gal, but you can use regular all-purpose flour or substitute a gluten-free flour blend to make this a gluten-free recipe. You can make these vegan! Just substitute a vegan butter. (Make sure it’s cold and hard - freeze it if necessary.) You could try this with coconut oil but I haven’t tested that and can’t vouch for it. I’ve used Gala and Red Delicious apples before and both work great. Any baking apple would be fine here. You can easily halve the recipe or just use one apple and ¼ of the streusel mixture for a smaller batch. You can also make a full batch of the streusel mixture and just keep it, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, to make smaller batches of these again and again and again. (She says from experience.)
I hope you’ll join me in this new-found apple fun. Stacked apple pie, baked apple slices, easy healthy apple crisp stacks - whatever you want to call it, it’s a must-have for fall. Enjoy! ~ Kathryn
I’ve used Gala and Red Delicious apples before and both work great. Any baking apple would be fine here. I use white whole wheat flour, but you can use regular all-purpose or substitute a gluten-free flour blend. You can easily halve the recipe or just use one apple and ¼ of the streusel mixture for a smaller batch.
