Thursday, September 27, 2012

Individual Apple Crisps—12 Weeks of Christmas Treats

Apple Crisp, 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats--week 1/9-25-12

Individual Apple Crisp

Don’t freak out, but today is the start of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats!  I know, you’re all thinking the same things as me.  Yes, it WAS just Christmas.  Yes, it IS that time of year again.  Look on the bright side, you still have 12 weeks, well, really more like 14 since we’ll finish posts for the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats a couple weeks before the holiday.  You’ve got all the time in the world! ;)  

In thinking about what to post first and my mind not really on Christmas treats just yet, I had what I think is a great idea for holiday gift giving or any time, really.  Everyone I know seems to love food gifts.  I had in my pantry some of these cute, little 5 1/2 inch pie tins and it came to me that they would be great for making individual treats.  Having a basket full of apples we needed to use, I decided to make apple crisps.  I made enough to use the four little tins I had.

Individual Apple Crisps

I think these would be great teacher, friend, or neighbor gifts for any time of the year.  Love the lids with each tin.

Individual Apple Crisps

What else would you put in them?  Cute little pies?  What else?

For the apple crisps, I used this crumble topping recipe, which is a recipe from Paige at For Love of the Table who is a chef I took classes from when we lived in Kansas.  It is a perfect crumble and my go-to for crisps.  I halved her original recipe, since I knew I was only make four crisps.  Then I made up the apple part of the recipe and came up with what to put in it as I went along.  I think it turned out great.  Apple crisp is pretty basic.

Individual Apple Crisps, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

Crumble:

1/2  cup plus 1 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

6 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

4  1/2 tablespoons (2 ounces plus 1/4 ounce) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

3/4 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup lightly toasted and chopped walnuts

Apple Filling:

6 apples, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks (any type of apple you’d like)

a squeeze or two of fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Have individual 5  1/2 inch tins or ramekins set on a baking sheet ready to fill.  Spray them lightly with cooking spray.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, salt, nutmeg and oats.  Add the butter and begin rubbing it in to the dry mixture, pinching it between your fingers, until it is well incorporated and it feels like all of the mixture is moist.  Add the nuts and stir together.  Set in the refrigerator until ready to use.  *If you really don’t want to use your hands, you can put the ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times until it is all combined.  Don’t over process it if you do it this way.  Add the nuts at the end and stir them in. 

In another bowl, add the apples and toss them with the lemon juice.  Add the sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt and stir to combine.  Scoop an equal amount (about a cup) of the apple filling into each tin.  Next put equal amounts of the crumble evenly on the tops of each tin full of apples.  Bake for about 30 minutes, until topping is golden and crisp.  Let the crisps cool until warm.  Or if giving them as gifts, let them cool completely, put the lids on and label them.

*Have an abundance of another fruit?  Use that instead and add sugar according to the sweetness of the fruit.  You can also add some dried fruit, cranberries, cherries to the apple crisp if you’d like. 

Individual Apple Crisp 2

Brenda from Meal Planning Magic is hosting the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats round up this year (again).  Check out her blog for more information.   Check out all the other recipe from the other participants.  I know I’ll get some great ideas for the holidays this year and you will, too, I’m sure.

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16 comments:

sue @ Cakeballs, cookies and more said...

nothing better than a treat you can have all to yourself! I have not even thought of my treat yet, so I better get on it soon!

Pam said...

How perfect are these? Happy to be baking along with you this year!~

Unknown said...

So cute! Love an individual treat, and you can never go wrong with apple crisp. Looking forward to the next 11 weeks!

Moviegirl03 said...

Yum, these look so good that my mouth is watering. I've never made a crisp before, this blog hop might push me to try one.

megan said...

Holy cow! 12 weeks until Christmas?! You're kidding, right?

I just bought apples yesterday, and now I know what I'll be making tonight :)

Jaida said...

I love miniature treats, so these are right up my alley! Great post for the first week!!

Mimi said...

It does freak me out the Christmas is only 14 weeks away. That being said I love individual desserts and these would be perfect to take on a fall picnic.
Mimi

Anonymous said...

Oh how perfect - a mini treat is the way to go - the apple crisps look mouthwatering :)
Mary x

Trisha said...

These are adorable. They are perfect for gifting!

Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) said...

What a great way to celebrate the season of fall with a great food gift idea too. Love it! Glad you're part of the hop again this year!

Paula @ Vintage Kitchen said...

So old-fashioned and delicious! Love the individual portions.

Elizabeth - SugarHero.com said...

Okay, you can't bust out Christmas treats in September then tell me not to freak out! Aaaaahhhh *muppetflail*

Seriously, though, these are super cute, and I AM excited about Christmas...I just need a little more time first!

Ally @ A Girl and Her Fork said...

What a great idea! I have a ton of apples...think I may make a few of these for the neighbors!

Kayla said...

This is such a great idea! These look great.

Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction said...

These mini pies look adorable. Perfect for gift giving.

Melissa said...

Cute idea! Love the individual packages :) Glad to have found your blog!