Cinnamon Cranberry Apple Crisp

There is almost nothing better than a classic apple crisp with its crumbly, sweet topping and melt in your mouth apples. However sometimes it is fun to put a spin on a classic, and this Apple Cranberry Crisp is just that. All the flavors you expect with a delicious pop of cranberries.  

One of my closest friends is a vegan and a hard-core sweets addict. This combination makes the holidays especially difficult. Between Thanksgiving and the December holidays, there are always cookies, cakes, and reats galore.

Unfortunately for her, almost every time she inquires about ingredients, she is faced with a laundry list of butter, eggs, milk, chocolate, and other non-vegan-friendly products. It's hard. So this year, we set out to do things a little differently so she would have something delicious to enjoy as well. 

Being someone who loves butter, I wanted to try swapping in vegan butter in a recipe where I feel like the butter makes a big difference - Apple Crisp. To my surprise, the vegan buttery spread, was a perfect replacement. You still got the caramel notes you want from the butter and brown sugar. It added just enough richness and the crust still got nice and golden brown. Seriously, not one person suspected that we had made a swap. It was delicious.

Key Ingredients for a Perfect Cranberry Apple Crisp

Here is everything you'll need to make this delicious fruit crisp.

• Fresh apples: When it comes to choosing apples for crisp, always look for crisp, somewhat tart options. Favorites include Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, and Pink Lady. Generally speaking, I don't recommend replacing apples with canned apples or apple pie filling. The texture and taste just won't be the same.
• Fresh cranberries: Cranberries add a delicious pop of flavor to a traditional apple crisp. Opt for fresh cranberries if you can find them. Frozen cranberries will work as well, just defrost them first. In a pinch, you could swap in dried cranberries but it will change the texture. 
• Rolled oats: Make sure to use rolled old-fashioned oats for the crisp topping. Instant oats and steel-cut oats will not work. 
• Brown sugar and maple syrup: Add sweetness to the apple filling with a combination of brown sugar and maple syrup. The maple syrup adds a delicious flavor note, but you could use all brown sugar if you prefer.
• Cinnamon: It can't be apple crisp without a good dose of cinnamon. Make sure to use high-quality cinnamon with good flavor.
• Butter: This recipe uses vegan butter but you could also use regular butter for it. Make sure to use unsalted butter. 

Make-Ahead Tips and Storage

Apple Cranberry Crisp is a great dish to make in advance and simply cook while you are eating dinner. Assemble the crisp and store it covered in the fridge. Take it out about an hour before you will be cooking it so it can come to room temperature. Then bake. It can be made 2-3 days in advance.

Once your crisp is cooked, you can store leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in the oven, a toaster oven, or microwave.