I use honey crisp or pink ladies for a crisp.

I use Granny Smith for cakes.

I use a mix of half granny smith, half gala

I like granny smith for baked goods.

Granny is my go-to also but…..if your recipe has very little sugar, you might consider a different Apple..

I recently made a recipe that that specified assorted apples and think thats a good plan. Granny Smiths are so one note tart it seems good to combine with another sort. These days pink lady are my go to for eating. ( Why are honeycrisp and braeburn less tasty than they used to be?)

I agree with a mix. Grannys are ok but i like Envy or Pink Lady better if you can find them. Honeycrisp have not been great this year imo. Mixing Envy/Pink Lady with a Granny or two is good.

I use Fuji apples, but that's because I have a Fuji tree. They work very well and remain crisp after baking, but they are sweeter than some other varieties.

Many, many years ago, I used to use winesap apples, but I have not seen those recently.

I used to have a Winesap tree. It never thrived for me. Pretty sure it was a victim of Cedar Rust and at the time I knew nothing about how to treat that. It was before the days of the internet. (A long time ago.)

I like the granny smiths for baked goods too. More tart - I don't like a very sweet apple for cooking or one low on distinct flavor when its a recipe with sugar added.

Granny Smiths for me, too.

First choice - Pippins. Formerly widely grown commercially, not more like an heirloom variety. I can get them early in the harvest season for a few months but then they're gone until the next year.

Second choice- Honeycrisp.

Both are sweet, firm and tangy. A variety I ran across when visiting Upstate NY that's not available where I live is Northern Spy. Very similar characteristics.

Rhizo, im another McIntosh fan. I like the mushiness.

We use Pippins, they don't get mushy. They hold their shape but still tender. Also they have a great flavor, not too sweet. My DH loves to eat them straight out of the refrig. And the plus is we suport local growers. We just made pie with them and it was great.

I prefer a balance of tart and sweet and most of the commonly-found apples are lacking in tartness. I use Jonagold for crisps, pies, and applesauce. They cook down for sauce but they don't fall apart in baked goods.

Pink Lady apples are my fave as well - especially for eating fresh, but they're good for cooking too. They are nice and tart, and also crisp and sweet - best flavor, IMO. Fujis are very nice for baking IMPE.

I used Gala for a pie for Thanksgiving and was disappointed - not much juiciness and too bland, they had a perfume-y sort of aroma tho, which I did not care for.

Granny Smith

rhizo, Macs and Cortlands are my favorite. Only available down here for a short window in the fall. We eat them fresh and in applesauce. It's amazing how quickly they cook down.

I like to mix apples. Try a few golden delicious, a few Gala or Fuji and a few Granny Smiths. I do that for apple pie and I like the combination.

socks, you can see there are lots of options and preferences. Apple Crisp is something I make often this time of year. SO GOOD!!!

I like apple/pear/strawberry crisp myself 🙂

Apple/cranberry is really good too.

Carol, I’ve added cranberries to my apple crisp.👍🏻

I don't care for any of the newer varieties of apples, almost all bred for eating, to cook with. My food coop tries to carry some smaller, locally grown old fashioned apples, so I will pick almost any of those for cooking. Golden Delicious are pretty good if nothing else is available. Growers used to grow varieties that home cooks would put up in applesauce or make pies and other desserts with, but habits have changed and few young people are canning or baking, so the growers are cutting down all the old trees and replacing them with fresh eating apples, developing varieties that are slower to brown when cut, etc. They store a long time and taste pretty good, but they aren't great for cooking. I remember when Braeburn was a new variety and very tasty, but now they are almost impossible to find (except in the spring when they are imported from New Zealand). One of the stalls at the Farmer's Market told me (when I asked why they no longer carried Braeburn) that they were chopping even those newish trees down in favor of newly developed varieties.

carol, chloe...do you just put in raw cranberries or dried? Sounds tasty and pretty too.

I use mostly Mac Intosh in baking.

The 'go to' if mentioned at all in recipes, that I've noticed has always been Granny Smith for pies if one is having to buy them. Neighbors all have trees and have shared over the years. Nothing beats any apple freshly picked!!

Like Elmer, I vote for Northern Spy...my (learned from Mom) all time favorite pie apple.

Always added one Yellow Delicious to it ... and.taste tests for sweetness! But, a few years

ago when I was still in the East, the Northerns became unavailable to me, too.

Were everywhere, then a bit harder to find, etc., etc. Finally, asked a grocer if he

knew where I could find them. He told me they were "eased" out as the trees

weren't producing like they used to, and they were being removed from the Orchards.

Don't know how true that was...but I haven't seen one in several years. I Have used

JonaGolds, Galas, Granny Smiths... good, but just not the same.

My DD1 is lucky to have a wonderful Saturday farmer's market. The growers are from upstate NY, and they have dozens of varieties of apples. When I go there (unfortunately not that often), it's like a candy store. I buy one of everything. It's such fun to sample all the different kinds; they have different smells and textures. And delicious besides.

socks, I’ve only used dried cranberries with mine. Fresh would also be great but you’d likely need a bit more sugar.

This is my go-to apple crisp recipe.

Apple Crisp
(Serves 8-10)

7-8 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 cup dried cranberries (optional, but good!)
2 T. lemon juice
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar (to taste)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 T. light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
10 T. cold butter, diced
Optional: 1 cup pecans (or walnuts), lightly toasted and coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl, toss the apples, lemon juice and sugar until mixture is well combined.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. With food processor or pastry blender, cut in/pulse the butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in nuts.

Spread the apple mixture in greased baking dish. (9x13 is good. I use an oval dish that’s about 9x14.)

Sprinkle the topping evenly over apples. Bake the crisp for about 55 minutes or until bubbling and top is golden.

Jonagold, Winesap, Rome, and Paula Red are all good cooking apples. Winesap was always my favorite, but they're hard to find. Thanks for sharing your recipe, Chloebud, it sounds delicious !

I try to always keep fresh cranberries in my freezer, so I use fresh, and I usually chop them up a little, adding a handful or 2 to my crisps, and a bit more sugar. They make for a beautiful red color too.

I was hoping to get the Macs but farmers’ market had pink ladies so that‘s what i got. Thanks the suggestions, everyone.

Chloe, looks like a ”berry” good recipe, better than mine The cranberries make an appealing addition.

Another Granny Smith fan here!

Macs are great, but they turn to mush in a crisp. I think you'll be happier with the Pink Lady.

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/best-apples-for-baking/

https://www.bettycrocker.com/how-to/best-apples-to-bake-with

“Chloe, looks like a ”berry” good recipe…”

It’s berry darn good, for sure!

Speaking of berries, I omitted this from the end of the recipe that includes berries.

Variation: For Peach Crisp filling, use about 4 lbs. (7 or 8 large), peeled peaches cut into 1/2-inch wedges, 2 T. flour, 2 T. lemon juice and 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar. Topping ingredients are the same as for Apple Crisp. Spread peach mixture in greased baking dish. Sprinkle the topping evenly on top. Bake at 375 for about 45-55 minutes or until bubbling and top is golden.

Note: Adding about a pint of fresh blueberries, raspberries, boysenberries or blackberries is also good.

@chloebud I made your crisp recipe. Unfortunafely I didn't have any nuts but I did have cranberries which makes an appealing look. The pink ladies cooked up nicely but held their shape too. I’m sure everyone will enjoy it at tomorrow’s Christmas party for my quilting group. Thanks for sharing the recipe.