20 Apples Related to Honeycrisp Apples

Learn about new apple varieties that have been created by crossing a Honeycrisp apple with another variety of apple.

📋 What's New In This Post (1/15/25) - Added Aura and Sunflare to the list to bring the total up from 18 to 20.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Honeycrisp took the world by storm. It became everyone's new favorite apple. So naturally people wanted to capitalize on it's success as well as deal some of the issue with growing Honeycrisp (learn more about this on my podcast).

There have been so many new Honeycrisp crossed apples (apples that are part Honeycrisp, part other apples). that have been hitting grocery stores and farmer's markets. In this post I am going through the ones I have tried myself as well as list some that I am hoping to try soon.

14 Reviews of Honeycrisp Crossed Apples

Here is the full list of apples that I have reviewed on the blog.

• SweeTango
• Wild Twist
• Sugar Bee
• Cosmic Crisp
• Lucy Glo
• Lucy Rose
• Karma
• Hunnyz
• Rosalee
• EverCrisp
• Juici
• Pazazz
• Aura (review coming soon!)
• Rave / First Kiss (review coming soon!)

Which Ones are the Best

Of course this is a matter of opinion. What I am looking for here above all else is flavor. All of these apples are crisp at least for a few months after they come out, and nearly all of them for months afterwards.

Out of all of these I think SweeTango has the best flavor when they are good.

This was the first Honeycrisp cross I heard of and tried. It was made by crossing Honeycrisp with Zestar! I was sent some to try back in 2010 which was super exciting for me as a new blogger. Those apples were so tasty with a rich, fall spice flavor.

Sadly most of the time they end up disappointing me now. They are more often bland than flavorful. I do say that the very best tasting SweeTango apple I have tasted beats every other apple on the list. The last really good ones I had was some I got at a Wegman's store in Pennsylvania back in 2021.

For consistent flavor, I have to say Wild Twist and Sugar Bee are the best. I have never had one that was bad or too soft. Wild Twist really don't show up in stores until the winter months and into the first half of spring. I have tried some grown on the east coast and some grown on the west coast and so far I prefer the ones I had grown in the east.

Sugar Bee was a natural mutation of a Honeycrisp tree. They didn't set out to create that one, you need to thank the bees!

I like Cosmic Crisp as well. They are the easiest to find. It seems that have the biggest push behind them and have quickly become an apple that you can find at the majority of grocery stores. It's a sweet, tart apple that stays crisp longer than Honeycrisp. I think they are reliable, but I don't think the flavor itself is super unique.

EverCrisp is a solid choice if you are Fuji fan and love a good sweet apple. They really do stay crisp forever. And are the kind of apple that I feel good about buying in the spring time.

Lucy Glo and Lucy Rose have the most unique flavor on the list, which has sometime to do with their pink or red flesh! I do find them to be more on the tart side with a sharp flavor that some may or may not love.

However what everyone will love is how pretty of desserts that they make. The color remains when baked and even intensifies. Both have become a favorite apple of mine for fall baking. None of the other apples on the list are as good for baking as these two.

The newest one I have gotten to try is the Aura apple. The 2nd yellow apple on this list. Aura is Honeycrisp + Aurora Golden Gala, an apple that I only had one occasion many years ago. It never took off. Aura is a better apple with a promising future. When I got some in January they were perfectly crisp. I am very interested to see how long they last as I haven't found a yellow apple that was super crispy at the end of the winter.

Which Ones Should You Pass On

Pazazz and Hunnyz don't wow me at all. They are average in flavor to bland. If you can find other options at the store on the list, you would be better with them.

6 New Ones to Still Try

I know for a fact there are other ones out there that I have yet to try and I am looking out to get a hold of them. The first three on the list were developed by the Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA) and the next 2 were developed by the University of Minnesota which are the ones that developed the Honeycrisp itself. And the last one was developed by Washington State University, famous for the Cosmic Crisp.

• Sweet Maia (MAIA)
• Summerset (MAIA)
• Scruffy (MAIA)
• Triumph (Minnesota)
• Kudos (Minnesota)
• Sunflare (Washington State)

Last fall I did an interview with MAIA and we talked about how these new apple varieties are developed.

Why So Many Varieties?

While Honeycrisp is popular with consumers, it's not the easiest apple to grow. So breeders have been using it to bred with other apples in hopes of creating an apple that could provide what the Honeycrisp does, which is that crisp bite, without all of the issues.

If you are curious to learn more I did an interview with Jamie from Riveridge Produce in Michigan. We focused on the Evercrisp but he shared some insights into why Honeycrisp are such a pain in the butt for growers.