Cyberealm's Cinnamon Apple Crisp

This retro apple crisp dials the cinnamon all the way up by dissolving cinnamon candies (the small red hard ones, like Red Hots) in boiling water to make a bright pink syrup. Poured over sliced apples in a 13×9 pan, the syrup lights up the fruit with spicy-hot cinnamon in a way ground cinnamon never quite manages.

The topping is a clever shortcut. Instead of a traditional butter-flour-oat crumble, a packet of white cake mix combines with brown sugar and melted butter to create thick crumble crumbs. Sprinkled over the apples, it bakes into a golden caramelized top that sets up sturdier than an oat crumble and holds its shape when scooped.

About 55 minutes in a moderate oven gives the apples time to tenderize and the juices to bubble up into the crumbs. Serve warm with whipped topping, a sprinkle of crushed cinnamon candies for color, and a mint leaf if you want to dress it up. Tastes like a church-basement potluck and a carnival midway at once.

Kitchen Tips

• Use firm apples like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Jonagold. Soft baking apples break down too much and leave a watery mess.
• Make sure the cinnamon candies fully dissolve in the boiling water before pouring. Undissolved candies leave hard nuggets in the finished dish.
• Use melted (not softened) butter for the topping. Melted butter turns the mix into even crumbs rather than a sticky blob.
• Bake on a rimmed sheet pan to catch any bubble-over. Apple-cinnamon syrup is sticky and bakes to cement on the oven floor.
• Serve within an hour of baking. The topping softens if it sits too long under the steaming apples.

Variations

• Swap cinnamon candies for whole cinnamon sticks steeped in the boiling water for a less artificial cinnamon note.
• Use spice cake mix in place of white cake mix for extra warmth.
• Add ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts to the topping crumbs for crunch.