One-Person Apple Crumble Pie

Sometimes you just need a little something sweet. I feel that way often—well, almost every night, if we’re going to be honest.

By Carly

Most of the time I don’t have anything sweet on hand, but sometimes I spend a few minutes (and yeah, that’s really all it takes) making something homemade, like this tiny apple crumble pie. It’s delicious and easy, easy, easy.

Here’s what you need: a few walnuts (5 or 6 will do), a tablespoon of brown sugar, ½ tablespoon flour, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, a sprinkle of salt, a tablespoon of butter, about a teaspoon of lemon juice, one small- or medium-sized apple (any kind is OK, but generally, the tarter the better), a tablespoon of white sugar, a tablespoon of apple cider/juice, a generous sprinkling of cornstarch, and about a 2” diameter ball of pie dough.

You won’t usually have that amount of pie dough just lying around, but I like to make a full recipe’s worth of dough, stick it in the freezer, and just pinch off what I need whenever I feel like making a tiny pie.

First, slice your apple and mix it with the lemon.

Next, make the crumble topping. Crush the walnuts and combine them with the brown sugar, flour, half the cinnamon, the salt, and half the butter. Mix it all well in a small bowl, then stick it in the fridge.

Heat the oven to 375, then get to work making your filling. Melt the other half of the butter in a small pan. When it’s hot, add the white sugar, the other half of the cinnamon, and your lemon-coated apple slices. Sauté the apples for about 5 minutes.

While the apples are cooking, mix together the cider and cornstarch. Add that mix to the apples once the 5 minutes have passed. Stir very often for about a minute. The mixture should thicken.

Let the filling cool while you roll out the pie dough on a floured surface. Grease a ramekin (these nifty things) or giant muffin cup and fit your circle of dough inside in a pie shape. Once you’ve done that, pour in the filling.

Then sprinkle your crumble topping over the pie.

Bake it for 20-23 minutes. When you take it out of the oven, it should be a dark golden brown on top.

Finally, let it cool, then EAT!