Someone asked me about single serve desserts recently and I realized that I don't have any up on the blog. So here's one you can't miss with. It's the perfect balance of sweet, tart, tender, and crisp, all in a cute little package. It's hard to mess up, too. The word of the day is easy so you don't even need to peel the apples! You can make them ahead of time and reheat AND the ingredient list is pretty basic. You probably have all the stuff in your kitchen right now. These mini apple cranberry crisps start with one extra large chopped apple and some dried cranberries.
Apple crisp was my go-to dessert recipe in college. It's probably the first dessert I made from scratch and it's been refined and perfected over time. I have fond memories of my friends and I catching up after a trying week of exams over a warm pan with scoops of ice cream and lots of laughter. Now, we're a bit more spread out geographically but apple crisp still makes appearances at our more casual hang out sessions when we get together. These cute little minis are a slight remix of that recipe and incorporate all of the same goodness. Once this post goes live, I fully expect to get hit up to make these while everyone is in town for the holidays. 🙂
All of the filling ingredients (apple, cranberry, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice) get mixed up in a bowl then placed into ramekins. Side note, you need a few ramekins in your life, sis. They don't cost much and just add a little something extra to hosting, serving, and in this case, baking mini desserts! Mine get a lot of use from cheese boards, to dips, and date-night desserts. The festive ramekins used here are an old after-Christmas clearance find but I've linked a few pretty and inexpensive ones below.
Next up is an easy crisp topping made with just oats, a little more brown sugar, flour, butter, and sea salt. Once mixed, it's spooned on top of the filling. These mini apple cranberry crisps bake for about 30 minutes or so, depending on your oven. In that time, the filling gets hot and bubbly and the apples sometimes take on a bit of a pink tint from the cranberries. The topping gets crisp and golden brown. Magic.
Are you into mini desserts? They certainly help with portion control and these would also be great for Valentine's Day dinner. You can also change up the fruits to suit your mood. I'm scheming on a berry version next. Let me know in the comments section, if you have any requests. Thanks for reading!
P.S. more apple desserts:

Mini Apple Cranberry Crisps
Ingredients
Apple Cranberry Filling
- 1 XL apple OR 2 large apples diced
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Crisp Topping
- ¼ cup old fashioned oats
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together apple, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg until apple pieces are well coated. Stir in dried cranberries then set aside.
- In another bowl, mix together topping ingredients.
- Divide filling between four three-inch ramekins then divide topping over top.
- Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly.
Mimi says
Love crunchy recipes, this sounds delicious!
Paula @ I'm Busy Being Awesome says
Such a yummy combo perfect for this time of the year!
Marissa | Marissa Teachable Moments says
Yum! I actually have most of these ingredients in my pantry. I just might go out to get the remaining ingredients because these crisps look delicious!
Steph says
Oh I love single serve desserts like this! Yum, I like this combo of flavors too.
Theresa Bailey says
What a delicious way to get in a healthy dessert!
Tisha says
Yess to single serve desserts!! I always make too much and have to worry about portion control. I have to try this!
Katrina Adams says
I love the presentation and the recipe sounds delicious!!!
Chef Mireille says
Love the idea of the individual size servings and with seasonal flavors the perfect holiday dessert
Andrea says
What a great recipe! I can't wait to try it!
Aline Shaw says
I love me a crisp - they are perfect for when you realize you made all this food and forgot dessert (happens to me very often ahahah). I usually make berry crisps, but now I gotta try this one too. Perfect for the season and looks delish! xx
Jazz says
This recipe would be great with berries, too. Thanks, Aline!