Individual Apple Cranberry Crisps

Author Notes

If there is a more perfect (and gorgeous) dessert for fall—and everyone’s favorite holiday (aka Thanksgiving)—than an apple-cranberry crisp, well, I have yet to be introduced. And if said crisp is baked in individual ramekins, then all the better, as everyone knows mini desserts are the best (and cutest) desserts. Plus, they don’t require sharing. Fruit-topped crisps and crumbles will always fall into the simple dessert category, but sometimes they get a little back-burner’ed—this apple-cranberry number, however, is going to change all that.

Fruit crisps have a myriad of attributes, but first and foremost, they are easy to assemble, call for ingredients that are already in your pantry, and don't require a stitch of special equipment. Second, crisps are texturally exciting—maybe I don’t get out enough, but buttery bits combined with deeply toasted pecans sprinkled atop sweet apples and tangy cranberries? Sign me up.

Additionally, crisps take almost no time to prepare and these individual ones only take about 30 minutes to bake. In short, this all translates into a dessert that you can put on the table in less than an hour. You’re welcome. Finally, the cranberries contribute to making this one of the prettiest desserts in the land, as the juices that bubble up around the edges, and those that pool a bit in the dish once served, are quite literally the most beautiful garnet in color.

But wait—what is the difference is between a crisp and a crumble? If you asked me offline, I’d say zilch, but the internet will tell you differently. In short, both desserts are comprised of baked fruit and are topped with something buttery and sweet. But crisp toppings call for oats and crumble toppings— you guessed it—do not.

But sometimes rules are made to be broken, so these particular crisps do not call for an oat topping. Moreover, if oats add crispiness, then the pecans here more than make up for their absence, providing the topping with all the cozy crisp crunchy (aka crispy) vibes one could ask for. Plus the pecans add a nutty flavor to these cuties— one that oats just can’t replicate. My topping also calls for cold, cubed butter that you work into the dry ingredients with your fingers. I like a lot of topping here, not only because life is better with more topping, but also because as the crisps bake, the fruit collapses, and the topping sinks. But because of how much topping is sprinkled on top pre-bake, the crisps do not dip below the edges of the ramekins, despite some sinkage.

The apple and cranberry duo is a no-brainer. Whisk the dry ingredients first before adding the fruit, so that the mixture evenly coats it all. I like my apples in half-moon wedges that are sliced in half or even thirds again. However, if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it before: if you are an apple-wedge peep from way back, then wedge it is. —Jessie Sheehan