Begin by preheating your oven to 350℉ (175℃). It's important to start with a hot oven so the crisp topping bakes evenly and the apples cook through by the time the topping is golden.

In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs (from 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 sleeves of graham crackers, crushed), 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon baking powder. Whisk these dry ingredients together until fully mixed. Add 1 cup cold butter—either cut into small pieces or grated with a large-hole cheese grater for easier blending. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to work the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set this topping aside. I find grating the butter makes it much quicker to incorporate and gets a perfectly crumbly texture.

Peel, core, and slice or dice the apples (use a mix of half tart and half sweet apples for the best flavor). Place the prepared apples in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves. Toss everything together until the apples are evenly coated with the dry mixture. Spread the apple filling evenly across the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Take the graham cracker crumble topping from Step 2 and sprinkle it evenly over the apple mixture from Step 3 in the baking dish, making sure all the apples are covered. Bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until the apples are tender but not mushy, and the crumble topping is golden brown. I like to check around the 30-minute mark to ensure the topping isn’t getting too dark.

Remove the baked apple crisp from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 10–15 minutes so the filling can settle. Serve warm, spooned over vanilla ice cream for the classic and irresistible finishing touch. For even more flavor, I like to drizzle a little extra cinnamon or a hint of caramel sauce on top.