Individual apple crumble tartlets are a delicious take on the classic . Warm apple cinnamon filling with brown sugar and oat topping is the ultimate comforting dessert. Serve tarts on their own or top them with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Quick, easy and oh so good!
Apple crumble is delicious any time of year but it is extra special during the colder months of fall and winter. Making it into individual apple crumble tartlets makes it perfect at home or for parties and potlucks.
I leave the peel on for most of my apple recipes. Leaving the peel on the apples makes prep fast and adds extra fiber and vitamins. I've used Washington organic apples so I'm not worried about pesticides on my apples. (If you prefer the texture of peeled apples in this, you can peel yours.)
Washington organic apples come in almost every variety so it's easy to find just the right ones for baking or eating raw. They store well in the fridge and are one of my go-to ingredients for my kids lunches, salads and of course baking. (Read on for the best baking apple varieties below.)
This was inspired by my popular Cinnamon Rolls With Apple Pie Filling and is a perfect fall dessert for an autumn dinner of Rocket and Pear Salad and Mushroom Lentil Stew.
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What Other Recipes Can I Make With Apples?
Apples are so versatile, they can really be used at any time of day in sweet or savory dishes. From apple oatmeal cake with coffee in the morning to apple grilled cheese for lunch and in my salad for dinner, here are some of my favorite apple recipes.
- Brie and Apple Grilled Cheese with Hot Honey
- Best Apple Oatmeal Cake
- Apple Walnut Salad
- French Apple Beignets Recipe
- Apple Kale Slaw
- Apple Cardamom Cake
- Crisp Apple Fennel Salad with Grainy Mustard Dressing
Do you have a favorite apple recipe? Leave your comments below, I'd love to hear what you all are making!
Recipe Ingredients
Only 8 ingredients make up these luscious apple crumble tartlets and you probably have almost all of them on hand already!
- Washington Organic Apples - Organic apples are grown using best, pesticide-free practices that grow nutritious and delicious apples. These are the best choice for my family. For apple crumble tartlets, I used the organic Honeycrisp that holds it's shape well during baking. Granny Smith, Cripps Pink, and Jazz are all excellent choices too.
- Pre Made Tartlet Shells - Using premade tartlet shells makes this recipe fast. Of course you can make your own if you have time. I've used standard 3" tartlet shells for this recipe.
- Cinnamon - I wanted this recipe to taste like classic apple crumble so cinnamon is a must.
- Oats - I used large steel cut oats but have made this just as successfully with quick oats too. Just use what you have in your cupboard, either work just fine.
See recipe card for quantities.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Core and chop apples into ½" pieces. I leave the peel on but you can peel the apples first if you prefer.
Melt butter over medium heat in a medium sized saucepan.
Once butter is melted, add apples tossing to coat. Cook until they start to soften, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking on the bottom.
Add in the sugar, cinnamon and flour mixture to cooking apples, stir and bring to a gently boil.
Let apple mixture boil over medium hear for 5 more minutes stirring occasionally until thick and syrupy.
Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, make the crumble topping by melting the butter then adding remaining brown sugar. Stir to combine.
Tip: I like to do this right in a measuring cup that is microwave safe. It saves me an extra dish and is deep enough to contain the topping ingredients.
Add in oats and remaining flour and stir together until well combined. This will be a crumbly texture.
Preheat oven to 375' F
Lay tart shells evenly on a large thin baking sheet. Scoop apple filling evenly into all 24 shells (approx. 1.5 tablespoons of filling in each) and gently smooth down.
Top with a heaping teaspoon of crumble topping on each tartlet.
Bake 25-30 minutes until tarts are lightly browning and pastry shells are cooked through.
Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. These can be eaten warm or at room temperature.
Hint: Apple crumble tartlets are delicious on their own but even better served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Substitutions
There aren't many ingredients in this warm, homemade apple crumble recipe but there are a few substitutions you can make if needed.
- Vegan - Use vegan tartlet shells and swap margarine for the butter to easily make vegan apple crumble tartlets.
- Unsalted Butter - I keep salted butter at home and use that in my recipes adjusting the salt accordingly. If you use unsalted butter, add an ⅛ teaspoon salt to the filling and ⅛ teaspoon salt to the crumble topping.
- Pre Cooked Tartlet Shells - Read the directions on your tartlet shells. This recipe uses shells that bake from frozen with the apple filling. If your shells are precooked, reduce the baking time accordingly, taking them out once the crumble topping is crisp.
Variations
Want to change this up? Rhubarb works really well paired with apples!
- Apple Rhubarb Crumble Tartlets - Use 4 cups apples and 2 cups rhubarb chopped to the same size as the apple pieces. Cook the rhubarb with the apples, omitting the lemon juice and finish the recipe the same as you would for the apple tartlets.
Storage
Apple crumble tartlets will store well for 3 days, covered at room temperature or cooler. Be sure that the tarts are completely cooled before covering.
You can freeze apple crumble tartlets in a sealed container up to 1 month.
FAQs
All of these desserts have a cooked fruit filling. The type of topping and whether they have a bottom makes the biggest difference. Pie generally has a top and bottom crust of classic pastry. A cobbler has a biscuit-like topping that can be solid or dolloped on like biscuits. Crumble is a topping of butter, flour and brown sugar that bakes up slightly crisp and crumbly and sometimes includes oats like I have here.
This recipe has an ideal ratio of butter and sugar to make the oats crisp. The fat in the butter helps keep the oats crisp and there is only just enough flour to bind the ingredients without creating bulk. Pre cooking the apple crumble filling also helps by reducing extra moisture before baking.
Related Recipes
For more on what I'm cooking up, follow me on Instagram or Facebook and come on into my home and kitchen shop, West Coast Kitchen Garden!
Enjoy the recipe and have a wonderful day!
Sabrina
Recipe
Apple Crumble Tartlets
Ingredients
- 6 c Organic Apples (4-6 apples depending on their size)
- ½ c Salted Butter Divided
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- ¾ c Brown Sugar Divided
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 3 tablespoon All Purpose Flour Divided
- 1 c Rolled Oats (Old fashioned or quick oats work equally well)
- 24 Premade Tartlet Shells (3" size which are the most common tartlet size for premade pastry)
Instructions
Apple Filling
- Core and chop apples into ½" pieces. Melt 4 tablespoons (¼ c) butter over medium heat in a medium sized saucepan and add apples. Toss to coat and let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally,
- Measure ½ cup brown sugar, cinnamon and 1 tablespoon flour in a measuring cup and stir to mix. Add to apples, stir and bring to a gently boil. Let boil over medium hear for 5 more minutes stirring occasionally until thickened and syrupy.Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Crumble Topping
- In a heat proof bowl, melt butter. Add remaining ¼ cup brown sugar and stir to combine. Add in oats and remaining 2 tablespoons of flour and stir all together until well combined. This will be a crumbly texture.
Assembly and Baking Tartlets
- Preheat oven to 375' F
- Lay tart shells evenly on a large thin baking sheet. Scoop apple filling evenly into all 24 shells (approx. 1.5 tablespoons of filling in each) and gently smooth down. Top with a heaping teaspoon of crumble topping on each.
- Bake 25-30 minutes until tarts are lightly browning and pastry shells are cooked through. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. These can be eaten warm or at room temperature. Apple crumble tartlets are delicious on their own or add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or vanilla whipped cream.
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