Skillet Apple Crisp, No Oats
Dried apples, a flour-and-sugar crumb, and butter powder. Baked in a pot over coals or a low stove.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 3.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 4 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 300 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Campfire coals
- Dutch oven
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried apple slices | 4 cups, loosely packed | tart rings rehydrate closest to Granny Smith |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 3/4 cup | |
| Sugar | 3/4 cup | white or coconut, both work |
| Ground cinnamon | 1 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Butter powder | 1/2 cup | or 4 tbsp real butter if you have a cooler |
| Cooking oil | 2 tbsp | for the pot and to bind the crumb |
Method
- Put the dried apples in the pot with 300 ml of water. Bring it to a boil, then pull it off the heat and let it sit 10 minutes covered. The apples should be plump, the water mostly gone.
- While that soaks, shake the topping bag: flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, butter powder. Add the oil and a teaspoon of water, then work it with your fingers through the bag until it clumps. Do not add more water. Wet crumb steams instead of crisping.
- Stir a tablespoon of the crumb into the apples to soak up the last of the liquid. Level them out and oil the pot rim.
- Scatter the rest of the topping over the apples in an even layer. Do not stir it in.
- Lid on. Set the pot over low coals or a stove at its lowest setting for 20 to 25 minutes. If you have a dutch oven, put coals on the lid too, and it will actually brown.
- Let it stand five minutes before you serve it. Straight off the fire it is lava.
The home version bakes sliced fresh apples under cold-butter crumb for nearly an hour. Neither of those survives a trip. Dried apples do the same job at a fifth of the weight, and they bring their own sugar back when you rehydrate them. Butter powder replaces the stick, and oil gives the crumb something to hold onto so it clumps instead of staying dust.
The part that matters is heat from above. A crisp gets crisp because dry topping sits in dry air over wet fruit. In a lidded pot on a stove, the topping mostly steams and comes out soft but still good. Coals on a dutch oven lid are what turn it brown, so use one if you brought it.
Packing
Topping goes in a quart freezer bag at home, dry ingredients and butter powder together. Apples in a second bag. Oil in a leakproof bottle. Three items, no measuring in camp.
Variations
- Swap half the apples for dried pears or a handful of raisins.
- A pinch of nutmeg or cardamom in the crumb.
- No lid and no coals? Toast the topping dry in a pan first, then spoon it over the apples as a crumble that never bakes.
https://mealswithmaria.site/apple-crisp-no-oats-recipe