Cooking Lesson #540 Crispy Apple Crumb Cups

… from the Perspectives’ Holiday Kitchen

credit: the girl who ate everything

How you doin’? What’s not to like with this recipe. It’s a yummy one-biter! It can easily be brought to a potluck dinner. Whenever I asked “what can I bring?” Crispy Apple Crumb Cups top the list.
 
I use a good all-purpose McIntosh apple which, by the way, is the Canadian national apple. McIntosh apples are good for eating as well. They are well known as dessert apples that break down quickly and require a shorter cooking time than most other apples. When first picked, McIntosh apples are sweet, juicy and tart with a bit of a spicy flavor thrill.
 
What will this recipe deliver? Sweet cinnamon-scented apples held in a buttery crispy oatmeal cup with a crunchy sweet topping. I like to make sweet treats to share with friends. I do this a lot with chocolate, but I came up with this inexpensive recipe so that I could bake and take apple crisp to share with family and friends.
 
Prep time: 45 minutes
Bake time: 20 minutes
Yield: 48 mini apple cups
 
Ingredients 
3 large McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/2 cups butter, diced
 
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350⁰ F.
2. Grease 4 12-cup mini-muffin tins.
3. Mix the apples, water, granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon together in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Simmer until apples are partially cooked, about 5 minutes; remove from heat. Set aside.
4. Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl.
5. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
6. Place a heaping tablespoon of the crust mixture into a mini muffin cup and press it into the cup so that it covers the bottom and pushes up the sides of the cup. Make the crust go all the way to the top of the little muffin cup and patch any holes with more crust mixture.
7. There will be crust mixture left over. Place about 2 teaspoons of apple filling in the crust pockets.
8. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of the remaining crust mixture on the filling.
9. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown; 15 to 20 minutes.

ChefSecret:  This is a Budget Recipe. Why? You probably have most of these ingredients in your pantry already. Don’t let them get one day older, make this inexpensive recipe and save a couple of bucks.

Quip of the Day: “Good moms let you lick the beaters. Great moms turn them off first.”
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. 

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                                                   ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2022

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