Apple Cranberry Crisp With White Wine

Because we live in New York, apples are quite plentiful so I’m always looking for new ways to utilize the constant source and variety of apples we have on hand. Dessert is a great way to highlight the flavors, you just need to make sure you use apples that hold up well to baking. Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady and Braeburn are some of my favorites to use in pies, cakes or crisps.

For this Apple Cranberry Crisp With White Wine, we used Honeycrisp apples as they have a nice sweetness and are firm enough to not cook down to a mushy consistency. What I love about this crisp is the addition of white wine for cooking the sugar and cranberries. The slight acidity offsets the overall sweetness of the dish and gives you balanced flavor in each bite.

Prepping the Ingredients

This dish is not difficult to make as it’s mainly mixing ingredients together and adding them at the appropriate time in the cooking process. The one ingredient that needs some prep work are the apples.

You can either leave your apples with the skin on or you can peel them. To peel them, use the 2-3/4″ Bird’s Beak Paring Knife.

Cut the apples in half with a 5" Petite Santoku and then in quarters to remove the core and thinly slice each section.

Making the Crisp

Combine the cornstarch, a quarter-cup sugar, apple pie spice, ginger and cloves in a small bowl and set aside. In a large saucepan, combine the white wine, a half-cup sugar, and a quarter-teaspoon of salt and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the cranberries and return to a boil, cooking for an additional two minutes. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool until just warm and then stir in the vanilla extract and lemon juice, followed by the cornstarch mixture, until completely incorporated.

Prepare the topping by combining the remaining sugar, quarter-teaspoon salt, almond flour, whole wheat flour, rolled oats and brown sugar. Add the butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing with your hands until all the butter is added, and the mixture is crumbly.

Place the sliced apples into a prepared 9-by-13-inch baking dish (sprayed with non-stick spray) and pour the cranberry mixture over the apples. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top. Cover the pan with foil and bake in a 375 F oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 25 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is browned.

This dish is best served warm and you can add some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if you desire. Apple Cranberry Crisp With White Wine is a lovely combination of sweet and tart flavors, and is the perfect dessert for any gathering.