Apricot crisp recipe in a bowl with vanilla ice cream.
Sweet, yet tart in every bite, this apricot crisp has lemon juice, vanilla extract, and cream cheese in the recipe. A crumbly topping baked to a golden perfection finishes off this delicious dessert.

Recipe updated: April 5th, 2024

This apricot crisp recipe is made without rolled oats. It’s an easy dessert to make, and so delicious. Prepare the fruit filling and the crumbly crisp topping, then pour the fruit filling into the baking dish, and sprinkle the crisp topping on the top of it, then bake. Voilà, a beautiful apricot crisp dessert that tastes amazing.

Serve this juicy apricot crumble dessert whenever you want to, and especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped topping for a whole new experience of deliciousness! The golden brown crispy topping compliments the sweet apricots, making this one of my favorite dessert recipes, along with peach pie, and peach cobbler.

Apricot crisp in a bowl.

🔍 What’s in this Apricot Crisp Recipe?

This apricot dessert recipe does not contain rolled oats (oatmeal). The fruit filling includes fresh ripe apricots, lemon juice, vanilla extract, flour, and sugar. And the delicious crisp topping includes flour crumbled together with brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, butter, and cream cheese. It’s a yummy combination!

🔪 Key Ingredients

The Crisp Topping

  • 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup golden brown sugar (firmly packed)
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) unsalted – room temperature
  • 4 ounces of brick cream cheese (room temperature)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of table salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

The Fruit Filling

  • 12 fresh apricots (unpeeled – remove pits)
  • 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Ingredients for Tart apricot crisp.
Ingredients for tart apricot crisp.

👩‍🍳 How to Make Apricot Crisp

These step-by-step instructions are accompanied by detailed photos for enhanced clarity and guidance.

Step 1. Preheat Oven

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2. Prepare the Crisp Topping

In a large bowl, put 3/4 cup of all purpose flour together with 3/4 cup of golden brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, then mix well until blended nicely. Set the flour mixture aside for now.

For the topping, add three-fourths cup of flour with three-fourths cup of golden brown sugar, one-half teaspoon of salt, and one-fourth teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix well.
Add the flour, golden brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon to a bowl. Mix well.

Step 3. Add the Butter and Cream Cheese

Slice 1/2 cup of unsalted butter and 4 ounces of cream cheese into pieces, then add the butter pieces and the cream cheese pieces together with the flour mixture we set aside earlier.

Slice one half cup of unsalted butter and four ounces of cream cheese, both that have softened at room temperature, into pieces, then add the butter and cream cheese together with the flour mixture.
Add the pieces of butter and cream cheese together with the flour mixture in the bowl.

Step 4. Mix the Crisp Topping

With your bare hands (or use food handlers kitchen gloves), a fork, or a pastry cutter, mix the butter and cream cheese pieces together with the flour mixture until it turns into a lumpy crumbly mixture. Do not over mix. It should be lumpy and crumbly, with bits of butter and cream cheese showing. Set the crisp topping mixture aside for now.

Note: If you would like to add rolled oats (also known as old-fashioned oats) to the crumble mixture, now is the perfect time to do so. About 3/4 to 1 cup of rolled oats should do just fine. Add the oat mixture last, then blend it into the crumble mixture. This way, the oats won’t break apart during the mixing process.

Mix the sliced butter and cream cheese with the flour mixture until it is a lumpy crumbly mixture. Do not overmix.
Mix the butter and cream cheese with the flour mixture into a lumpy crumbly mixture. Do not overmix.

Step 5. Prepare the Apricots

We washed 12 apricots under cold running water, but we did not peel them. You can peel the apricots if you prefer. After washing the apricots, use a cutting board and a sharp knife to cut them in half. An apricot is a stone fruit or drupe, so remove the stone (we know them as the seed or pit) in each apricot and discard it in the trash, then cut the apricots into cubes or chunks.

Note: Summer fruit is the best, but if you can’t buy fresh local apricots, it is perfectly fine to use canned apricots from the grocery store instead of fresh, especially when the apricot season is over. Depending on how much sugar is added to a can of apricots, you may have to use a little less sugar for the filling in this fresh apricot crisp recipe.

Twelve apricots, not peeled, seeds removed, then cut into cubes.
Twelve apricots, not peeled, seeds removed, then cut into cubes.

Step 6. Put the Fruit Filling Ingredients and Apricots in a Bowl

In a large bowl, put 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour together with 1/3 cup of granulated sugar. Then add the cut-up apricots to the bowl.

Add two teaspoons of lemon juice, one-half teaspoon of vanilla extract, two tablespoons of all-purpose flour, and one-third cup of granulated sugar to the cut-up apricots.
Add the lemon, vanilla extract, flour, and granulated sugar together with the apricots.

Step 7. Blend the Fruit Filling Ingredients Together

With a spoon or spatula, toss the lemon juice, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, and granulated sugar together with the apricots until well blended. Set the fruit filling aside for just a minute.

Note: Tossing the apricot fruit filling with the lemon jucie mixture will produce a bit of liquid from the apricots, which is totally normal.

Mix the lemon juice, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, and granulated sugar with the cut-up apricots.
Mix the lemon juice, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, and granulated sugar with the cut-up apricots.

Step 8. Prepare the Baking Dish

Spread a thin layer of butter on the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch cake pan or glass baking dish. You can use non-stick cooking spray instead of butter if you prefer. Pour the apricot fruit filling we just prepared, evenly into the greased pan.

Pour the apricots into a buttered baking dish.
Pour the apricots into a buttered baking dish.

Step 9. Sprinkle the Crisp Topping Mixture on the Apricot Fruit Filling

With a spoon, sprinkle the crisp topping mixture we set aside earlier, evenly on top of the apricot fruit filling.

Tart apricot crisp ready for the oven.
Tart apricot crisp ready for the oven.

Step 10. Bake the Apricot Crisp

Put the apricot crisp into the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the fruit is hot and bubbly. It looks so amazing straight out of the oven. It tastes delicious and makes the house smell so wonderful.

Tart apricot crisp after baking in the oven at four hundred degrees for forty minutes.
Tart apricot crisp after baking in the oven.

✨ Recipe Variations

  • Add a pinch of nutmeg when preparing the fruit filling.
  • Sprinkle some lemon zest on top of the apricot crisp before baking.
  • You can make an oat topping by adding about 3/4 to one cup of old-fashioned oats (rolled oats) to the crisp topping ingredients.
  • Add 1/3 cup of raisins or 1/3 cup of chopped pecans (or both) to the fruit filling.
Tart apricot crisp in a bowl.
Tart apricot crisp in a bowl.

FAQs

What is the Difference Between Crisp, Cobbler, and Crumble Desserts?

The difference between fruit crisp, fruit cobbler, and fruit crumble recipes are the toppings. These desserts are made in a baking dish or casserole dish that are filled with fruit as the base, with no bottom crust. Apples, peaches, apricots, blueberries, and raspberries, or a combination of fruits, can be used in these desserts. For the toppings, a prepared flour mixture is poured, scooped, or sprinkled over the top of the fruit, then baked in the oven, letting the juices from the fruit bubble up, in, and throughout the topping.

Fruit Crisp – A baked fruit-based dessert that is sprinkled with a sweet crumbly topping made with basic ingredients such as flour, brown sugar, butter, salt, ground cinnamon, and rolled oats to give it a crispy crunchy texture when baked to a golden brown color. It is a drier flour mixture, making it lumpy, crumbly, and easy to crumble up with your fingers. Some ingredients can also be added or omitted.

Fruit Crumble – A baked fruit-based dessert very similar to a fruit crisp topping but without rolled oats in the flour mixture. The flour mixture is not as dry, but close to it because it still has big lumps and large clumps with a sweet buttery flavor.

Fruit Cobbler – The topping on a fruit cobbler is more of a buttery biscuit type – thicker stickier batter – or it can be a cake-like batter that is a bit thinner than biscuit batter, usually with some sort of milk or buttermilk added. Usually, it is poured or scooped out over the fruit, and has a cobblestone look after it’s baked. On the top of the crust, a light sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon, or just sugar, can be added.

What do I do with Leftover Apricot Crisp?

If you have any leftover apricot crisp, store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container. You can also leave it in the baking dish and cover it with a lid, plastic wrap, or aluminum foil.

Tart apricot crisp in a bowl.

💭 Final Thoughts

The next time you want to make something special for your family or friends, give this delicious apricot fruit dessert a try. It’s a delightful treat with cream cheese mixed into the crumbly topping making it taste so fantastic.

Apricot crisp is delicious all by itself or together with a dollop of your favorite ice cream or whipped topping. It’s a tart yet sweet treat however you serve it, whether it’s served straight out of the oven, or cold the next morning. You surely can’t go wrong with this one. Enjoy!

Tart apricot crisp in a bowl.

📝 Recipe Card

Apricot crisp recipe in a bowl with vanilla ice cream.

Apricot Crisp Recipe (Fresh Dessert)

Avatar for FloFlo
Sweet, yet tart in every bite, this apricot crisp has lemon juice, vanilla extract, and cream cheese in the recipe. A crumbly topping baked to a golden perfection finishes off this delicious dessert.
4.84 from 6 votes
Cost $9
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings 12

🫕 Equipment

🧂 Ingredients
  

The Topping

The Filling

👩‍🍳 Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Crisp Topping

  • Add flour, golden brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon to a bowl. Mix well.
  • Cut butter and cream cheese into slices, then add the butter and cream cheese together with the flour mixture.
  • Use your fingers, a fork, or a pastry cutter and mix the butter and cream cheese with the flour mixture into a lumpy mixture. Do not over mix. Set aside for now.

The Fruit Filling

  • Wash the apricots, do not peel them, remove the pit in each apricot, then cut the apricots into cubes. Note: You can remove the peels from the apricots if you prefer.
  • Add the lemon juice, vanilla extract, flour, and granulated sugar to the cut-up apricots. Toss until well blended. A slight bit of liquid will form in the bowl. This is natural.
  • Spread a thin layer of butter (or spray non-stick cooking spray) on the bottom and sides of the baking dish. Pour the apricot filling evenly into the baking dish.
  • Sprinkle the crumbly mixture evenly over the top of the apricots.
  • Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the fruit is hot and bubbly.

*️⃣ Recipe Notes

  • Tart apricot crisp is extra delicious served warm with a scoop of ice cream or whipped topping.
  • You can add about 3/4 to one cup of rolled oats to the crisp topping mixture. Add the oats to the mixture last so they won’t get broken into pieces.
  • Always keep an eye on the oven towards the end of the baking time.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

🥰 More New Recipe Ideas You Will Love

  • This cherry coffee cake uses a Pillsbury hot roll mix with cherry preserves in the filling and a crumble topping of brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. To finish off this amazing dessert, drizzle some powdered sugar glaze on top.
  • These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are easy to make, taste delicious, and smell so good. The muffin ingredients includes light brown sugar mixed together with chocolate chips, pumpkin pie spice, and 100% pure pumpkin.
  • This is the best pumpkin cheesecake you will ever eat. A homemade graham cracker crust for the base, cream cheese and pumpkin with spices for the filling, then topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with crushed graham crackers. So good!

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Avatar for Alma Diffie

    I made it for 4th of July and it was a hit! I omitted the cream cheese and it was still great. Everyone loved it.

    I used fresh apricots from the tree. I will make it again and I will also try other fruits like blueberries.

    1. Avatar for Tamara Ray

      I’m so glad it was a hit! Let us know how it turns out with other fruits that you try 😋

4.84 from 6 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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