Best Apples for Apple Crisp or Apple Cobbler | Apple for That (2024)

FAQs

Best Apples for Apple Crisp or Apple Cobbler | Apple for That? ›

TIP: Any apple will work but baking apples, Cortland and Granny Smith apples will give a nice tart flavor in contrast to the crumble and will hold their form best.

What Makes A Good Apple For Apple Crisp? The best apples for baking keep their structure under heat, which prevents the chunks of fruit from turning into mush after baking. The firm and crisp Granny Smith and Honeycrisp varieties are popular apples to use in apple pies and apple crisps.

For the best pies, crisps, and other baked treats, apples need to be firm enough to hold their own during the cooking process. We call these apples “baking apples” and to namedrop, they include Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.

Honeycrisp. One of the sweetest apples around, this Midwestern favorite is good for anything—including baking. It boasts a distinctive juicy crispness and is firm enough that it won't cook down much. It complements just about any other apple variety to make a stellar pie.

Storage quality also varies by cultivar. The best apples to store long-term have thick skin and tend to be crisp and tart. Apple varieties such as Gala, Granny Smith, Fuji, McIntosh, Winesap, Honeycrisp, Northern Spy, and Rome are known to store very well given the proper conditions.

These are all excellent choices for baking. You'll want to avoid soft, mealy, or creamy-flesh apples like Red Delicious, Gala, and McIntosh. They will soften up too quickly in the baking process, and therefore do not provide ideal texture.

For whatever reason, Granny Smith apples have long been considered the favorite for apple pies. This is likely because they are extremely firm, and do not mush under almost any amount of cooking.

Green apples, like Granny Smith apples, have a much denser texture. That makes them better able to withstand high heat. So green apples are preferred when apples are used for baking.

Are Pink Lady apples good for baking apple crisp? ›

Pink Lady Apples

Pink Ladies are great for both pie and crisp because they have a super flavorful juice that concentrates beautifully during the cooking process.

Honeycrisp is very susceptible to black rot, powdery mildew, and fire blight. Heat and sunburn are also issues with Honeycrisp. Fruit grows on the larger size, especially in early years. “Honeycrisp has thin skin, which is easily punctured.

The EverCrisp® is an apple that is flavorful, juicy and crisp, and can weather unpredictable winters. It has dense flesh and light crispness and juiciness, combining the best features of its parent varieties, the Honeycrisp and Fuji. While it is an great snack, its firmness makes it an ideal apple for baking.

Texture & Use in Recipes: In terms of texture, Fuji apples are also a lot crisper, and less dense than Gala apples. So, they result in a firm bite with juicy flesh while Galas are softer and creamier. Their texture also means that Fujis are better for baking as they hold their shape better than Galas when cooked!

Gala. Unlike the consistent, vibrant red of a Red Delicious, no two Gala apples look quite the same. They're generally light red, with yellow undertones and wisps of pink and orange spots. Gala apples have a reliable, mild sweetness and a crisp bite, and their thin skin makes them ideal for a fresh-eating apple.

What're the best apples for candied apples? You can candy just about any apple! Granny Smith, Gala, Honeycrisp—they'll all work wonderfully. Granny Smith apples are a bit more tart than the others, so if you like that tart-sweet flavor combination, try using those.

The results are way more delicate and not as sweet as a shortbread shell, but provides the perfect base for our apples. The best apples for an apple tart: We're partial to Granny Smith, Honeycrip, and Gala, but you can really use any baking apple that you prefer in this recipe!