Apple Cinnamon Crumble with Raisins

Apple crumbles are one of my favorite comfort food desserts. They’re packed full of fruit and spices, so they smell great when they’re baking, and you’re able to eat them almost as soon as they come out of the oven. While you can make an apple crumble all year round, I make them most often in the fall, when I’m in the mood for a dessert that can be served warm. This Apple Cinnamon Crumble with Raisins is a simple twist on a classic crumble, packed with brown sugar and lots of spices.

The filling for the crumble is made with apples that are diced in large chunks, rather than sliced. I not only find that dice tend to cook a little bit more quickly than sliced apples, but they are easier to scoop out of the baking pan when you’re ready to serve your crumble! I used honeycrisp apples in this batch, but any firm apple is going to be a good choice. Avoid softer or mealier apples like red or golden delicious, as they tend to break down while the crumble bakes. To the apples, I added brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice and plenty of raisins. The allspice gives the filling a much deeper flavor than the cinnamon alone, giving the dish an almost apple cider-like flavor.

I love the addition of raisins to this apple crumble recipe. The raisins plump up during baking, absorbing some of the juices from the apples, and become incredibly tasty. I used a mix of raisins that included both light and dark, but any kind of raisins can be used in this recipe. If you don’t have raisins, dried cranberries will also make a nice addition, though they tend not to plump up quite as much as raisins do.

The crumble topping is very easy to make, as it is made with melted butter and can be stirred up with a spatula in seconds. The topping also has a generous dose of cinnamon and brown sugar, tying in easily with the spiced filling. Thanks to the melted butter, the topping mixture is quite moist, so it is easy to shape into large crumbles by squeezing the mixture in your fist. I don’t know about you, but I love having generously sized crumbles in any kind of streusel mixture! Make sure that the topping is evenly distributed over the filling before baking, as the raisins can burn when they’re exposed to the direct heat of the oven.

I bake this crumble in a large pie dish, which makes for an attractive presentation if you want to serve it to a crowd because people will automatically assume that you’ve baked a whole pie, not just a crumble. Serve it warm or at room temperature alongside a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Apple Cinnamon Crumble with Raisins
Filling
4-5 med/lg apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins

Crumble Topping
1 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350F.
Make the filling: Peel and core apples. Cut into 1/2 to 1-inch dice, then combine apples with sugar, flour, spices and salt in a large mixing bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Make the topping: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Pour melted butter over flour mixture, and stir with a rubber spatula until large crumbs form.
Pour apple mixture into a 9 or 10-inch pie plate and gently spread into an even layer. Sprinkle crumb topping – squeezing handfuls of the mixture in your fist to form large clumps – over apple slices, distributing the crumble evenly.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until apple slices are tender. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Crumble can be served warm or at room temperature.

Serves 8