One of my favorite ways to make new dessert recipes is to take two great desserts and combine them. Like churros and cheesecake. Or cookie dough and ice cream sandwiches. Or carrot cake and cookies, baked in a muffin tin to make cookie cups.
That last one came out so well that I decided to try the same trick again, but with apple crisp. To make it easy, I used canned apple pie filling for the apple and oatmeal cookie mix for the “crisp” part. I blended it with butter, egg, and just a touch of cream to make a nice, stiff dough that would mold nicely into the cups.
Then I filled those cups with the chopped-up apple filling, topped each one with little sprinkles of the dough like a streusel, and baked them until they were golden brown. And for an extra touch of decadence, I finished them off with a drizzle of caramel syrup.
The result isn’t exactly a cookie, or a muffin, or a crisp. It’s the best parts of all three – a neat little handheld cup filled with sweet apple, caramel, and oatmeal flavor. It’s not two, but three great desserts in one
Recipe Notes:
How do I get these out of the muffin pan?
I found that these Apple Crisp Cups can fall apart pretty easily if you aren’t careful, but they are so delicious they are totally worth it. Here are some tricks to getting them out of the muffin pans without damaging your precious dessert:
- Make sure that you cook your Apple Crisp Cups enough. If they aren’t baked all the way through, they will fall apart, no matter how you decide to get them out. Look for the edges to be a nice golden brown before you take them out of the oven.
- Use a silicone muffin pan. These allow you to pop out your Apple Crisp Cups, which makes for an easy removal.
- Line your muffin pan with cupcake liners. Though this might give your Apple Crisp Cups some funny cupcake lines, they will make it much easier to get the cups out of the muffin pan.
- Cut out strips of parchment paper that are about 63inches long and 1 inch wide. Place two of these, in the shape of an X, in your muffin pan cups before putting your dough in. When your cups are done cooking, you can use these strips to pull your cups out of the tray without damaging the cups. Just be careful not to get these strips mixed up in your dough as you press your dough into the muffin pan. When you use these strips, don’t use the cooking spray.
- If you don’t have any of these options, be liberal with your cooking spray, and use gravity when taking out your Apple Crisp Cups. I carefully tipped over the muffin pan, lightly tapping on each cup as I waited for it to slide out. You may lose a couple this way, but it should help to get the majority of your delicious Apple Crisp Cups out safely.
How do I store these Apple Crisp Cups?
You can store these Apple Crisp Cups in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to five days. If you want to store it for longer, it will freeze well for 3 months. Afterwards, you will want to thaw it in the refrigerator, then bake it in the oven at 350 F for about 8-10 minutes or until heated through.
Mini Apple Crisp Cookie Cups
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly spray a non-stick mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
- Chop up the apple slices into small pieces using a knife. Or, use a food processor to create a chunky puree with the apple pie filling. You want apple pieces that are small enough to fit inside your mini apple crisp cups. Set aside.
- Mix the oatmeal cookie mix, salted butter, heavy cream, and egg together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Use a 1 Tablespoon measurer to scoop a ball of the dough into each muffin tin cavity.
- Press the oatmeal dough into the muffin tins using your fingers to create a cup shape in the mold. Patch any holes, using more dough if necessary. You should have extra dough left over. Set it aside for now.
- Fill the cups with about 1 Tablespoon of the set aside apple pie filling.
- Tear the leftover cookie dough into pieces and sprinkle over the top of the apple filling. It’s okay if it’s a little sticky. If you would like, add a couple of Tablespoons of flour or oats into the dough to make it easier to work with.
- Place apple cups into the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes or until the entire edge and tops of the cups turn golden brown.
- Carefully remove the cups from the muffin tin and drizzle caramel syrup over the top, optional.
- Plate, serve warm with milk, optional, and enjoy!
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Mini Apple Crisp Cookie Cups
Ingredients
- 20 ounce can apple pie filling
- 7.5 ounce oatmeal cookie mix
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- Caramel syrup optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly spray a non-stick mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
- Chop up the apple slices into small pieces using a knife. Or, use a food processor to create a chunky puree with the apple pie filling. You want apple pieces that are small enough to fit inside your mini apple crisp cups. Set aside.
- Mix the oatmeal cookie mix, salted butter, heavy cream, and egg together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Use a 1 Tablespoon measurer to scoop a ball of the dough into each muffin tin cavity.
- Press the oatmeal dough into the muffin tins using your fingers to create a cup shape in the mold. Patch any holes, using more dough if necessary. You should have extra dough left over. Set it aside for now.
- Fill the cups with about 1 Tablespoon of the set aside apple pie filling.
- Tear the leftover cookie dough into pieces and sprinkle over the top of the apple filling. It’s okay if it’s a little sticky. If you would like, add a couple of Tablespoons of flour or oats into the dough to make it easier to work with.
- Place apple cups into the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes or until the entire edge and tops of the cups turn golden brown.
- Carefully remove the cups from the muffin tin and drizzle caramel syrup over the top, optional.
- Plate, serve warm with milk, optional, and enjoy!
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Nutrition Information:
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Cory B says
These look so yummy! Do you think there’s another cookie recipe that would hold up and have that “apple crisp” feel? I am allergic to oats, it’s so sad 🙁 Thanks!