Uh-oh! I seem to be on a Cheat Day Kick! Buttt I love it.

My husband and I went Apple picking last weekend with my in-laws and, despite the misty morning weather and the issues that orchards all over New England are facing due to the severe drought, we brought home so many apples! Most of my haul consisted of Spencer apples and let me tell you – they’re delish. There was no way we were going to be able to eat all of them before they went bad so I decided to come up with a dessert that is fairly low-impact while still falling into the traditional New England autumn classic category.

These mini apple crisps are perfect for bringing to fall parties (hellooo Thanksgiving! Right around the corner!) – grab your tray of “muffin crisps” and a pint of french vanilla ice cream and you’ll be the hit of the party.

I mention this below in the ingredients list, but it’s good to note here too: this recipe is already dairy free and can be made gluten free just by using gluten free oats (high contamination food) and gluten free flour! I made half of mine with whole wheat flower strictly because I didn’t have enough gluten free flour on hand, but they tasted virtually the same.

What You’ll Need…

Cupcake pan(s) for approximately 18 mini-apple crisps
Cupcake liners
6 apples* – peeled, cored, & cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups flour**
2 cups old fashioned oats
1.5 cups brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup water
3 tsp cinnamon (divided: 2 tsp and 1 tsp)
2 tsp nutmeg
1 to 1.5 cups coconut oil

*Because I picked Spencer apples at the orchard, these are what I used. I’ve seen a ton of recipes suggest Granny Smith or another crisp, tart apple, but use what you have/like.
**I divided my entire recipe in half: 1/2 with whole wheat flour and 1/2 with a gluten-free flour blend, but you can use all purpose flour or another favorite baking flour. #makeityourown

What To Do…

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Insert cupcake liners into cupcake pan and set aside
3. To make the apple filling: Over medium-low heat, combine water, honey, 1 tsp of cinnamon, and prepared apple pieces in a medium sized saucepan. Stir often while simmering for approximately 5 minutes or until the apple pieces are tender.
4. To make the crust/topping: In a large bowl whisk flour, oats, brown sugar, remaining cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Cut in coconut oil until the flour mixture looks crumbly and consistent (I recommend mixing in half of the oil at first, combining, and then adding more as needed).
5. Taking approximately 3 tablespoons of your crust mixture per cupcake liner, use your fingers to pack the crust against the bottom and sides of each one, forming a crust without any holes for your apple filling to leak out of. Leave a little bit of the crust mixture for topping in the next step.
6. Spoon 2 tablespoons of apple filling into each crust and top with a sprinkling of the crust mixture.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust appears to be firm
8. Remove from cupcake pan and enjoy immediately – store leftovers (if there are any) in an airtight container

Now I only have 25 apples to use before they go bad! Any suggestions??