The mug is always half full if you’re a college student looking for a little comfort food
Story & Photos by Anneka Miller
If there’s one thing students don’t have, it’s spare time. If there’s one thing students love, it’s dessert. We’ve all seen it happen on campus: any event that includes warm cookies, gooey brownies, or delicious pie becomes instantly popular.
Making good dessert takes time and planning. A study break to bake isn’t always an option, so having a quick, easy alternative to satisfy that dessert craving is a must.
Four sophomore girls, weathering the cold days of January 2009, stumbled on the perfect solution to the instant dessert fix.
My mother had gifted my roommates and I with jars upon jars of pre-made apple pie filling, complete with cinnamon and nutmeg. We had no idea what we were going to do with all that pie filling except make a lot of pies. Piecrust requires some time and planning ahead if you refrigerate it like many recipes recommend.
We made one pie. The rest of the filling just sat in jars. Until we discovered you could put a little oatmeal and pie filling in a mug, microwave it, and have an instant apple crisp.
Suffice it to say, the jars of pie filling were gone by springtime.
Over the years, the original apple crisp recipe has been modified. Frozen fruit, like blueberries, strawberries and blackberries, can be substituted for apple pie filling. Pie filling can also be substituted with applesauce and fresh apple, which is good if your mother doesn’t make pie filling for you.
Frozen berries and applesauce are available at most grocery stores. Watching for sales and coupons is a good idea because they can be expensive depending on the season. Market of Choice always posts their Savories ads online, which sometimes include frozen foods.
Below is the original apple crisp recipe and some other marvelous mug filling recipes:
Apple Crisp in a Mug
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups applesauce
Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
5 or 6 tablespoons instant oatmeal
Milk
- Put 1 1/2 cups of applesauce, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a microwave safe mug.
- Add 5 tablespoons of instant oatmeal on top.
- Moisten the oatmeal with milk.
- Microwave for 3 minutes on HIGH.
- Instant apple crisp. Careful, it’s HOT!
Variation:
If you use fresh apples, add 5 tablespoons of instant oatmeal to the mug first! Moisten the oatmeal with milk. Cut one apple into small chunks and microwave for an extra minute.
Berry Cobbler in a Mug
Ingredients:
1 cup frozen berries
Cinnamon or nutmeg to taste
5 or 6 tablespoons instant oatmeal
Milk
- Put 5 tablespoons of instant oatmeal in the bottom of a microwave safe mug.
- Moisten the oatmeal with milk.
- Add the frozen berries and spices.
- Microwave for 3 minutes on HIGH. Remove and stir. Microwave for another minute.
- Instant berry cobbler.
Variation:
Try combos like strawberries and blueberries, or peaches and blackberries.
