Overhead view of an apple crisp in a cast iron skillet placed on a red and white checkered tablecloth surrounded by a variety of autumn leaves

Campfire Apple Crisp

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2 min read

When we think "classic fall dessert", there's one clear winner that comes to mind, and that's apple crisp – move over pumpkin pie. The warm spices, the sweet and crunchy topping along with fresh apples, it doesn't get any better than this. This dessert calls for a longer cook time, so bear with us, but who's really complaining about extra time around the campfire anyway? If you do find yourself in a time crunch or you have some hangry campers on your hands, there are some shortcuts you can take. However, in our completely unbiased opinion, we'd say this is worth the wait.

Close-up of two bowls of apple crisp sitting outside on a red and white checkered tablecloth with a blurred cast iron skillet and campsite fire pit behind

Sometimes you don’t have all the time in the world, we get it, there’s trails to see and lakes to swim in. Lucky for you, apple crisp is pretty forgiving and doesn’t mind a couple shortcuts. The biggest time-saver? Swapping the homemade topping for your favourite granola; you can still get that perfect crunch just without the longer bake time. If you’d rather stick with homemade topping but would still like some extra time around camp, combine the dry ingredients at home and add the butter once you’re ready to bake. Fewer dishes, less prep, and all that warm, apple-cinnamon goodness to enjoy around the fire.

Equipment Required:

Ingredients

Serves: 6 People

Apples:

  • 5 Large apples, cored and sliced (we're using Grannysmith)
  • 1 tbsp of lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp of sugar
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon

Topping (or sub 2 cups of granola)

  • 1 cup of brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup of rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup of all pupose flour
  • 1/2 cup of cubed, salted butter
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1 tsp of nutmeg
  • Pinch of salt

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Directions

1. Use cooking spray or butter to lightly grease the cast iron skillet. The cast iron is pre-seasoned, but this will help the apples caramelize and get a nice little crunch to them.

2. Preheat your skillet over the campfire.

3. Cut your apples up into thin slices, then add them into the skillet over the fire.

4. Add the lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon to the apples, Give it a good mix to make sure the apples are evenly coated.

5. Sauté the apples for about five minutes, they should begin to soften.

6. From here, it depends how hungry you are: 

  • For a quick and easy crisp, grab your favourite granola and sprinkle a generous amount over the apples. Give it a good mix and let it cook for another five minutes over the flames. It's as easy as that!
  • If you're looking for your traditional apple crisp, read on.

7. In a separate bowl, add the remaining ingredients together and stir.

8. Once mixed, evenly sprinkle the topping over the apple mixture. The topping is the best part, so don't worry if it looks like there's too much.

9. Remove the skillet from the fire and carefully cover the apple crisp with tinfoil before placing back over the fire. Leave the skillet to bake for another 15-20 minutes to make sure that topping crisps up.

10. Carefully remove the skillet from the flames. Allow to cool for five minutes before removing the tinfoil, then get ready to dig in!

  • Overhead view of an apple crisp in a cast iron skillet cooking on the grill of a campsite fire pit in the autumn.
  • Overhead view of an apple crisp in a cast iron skillet on a red and white checkered tablecloth being spooned into small blue bowl
  • A person sitting outside at a picnic table spooning apple crisp from a cast iron skillet to a small blue bowl.
  • Two hands each holding a blue bowl with a portion of apple crisp over a white and red checkered table cloth.
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