For all the suburban transplants who miss apple picking. 

October hit, and the rainy, cold weather came with it. Naturally, I was craving something warm and cozy to fuel my studying. Unfortunately, I don’t have an oven, baking dish, or any ingredients. I do, however, have 19 meal swipes per week and a mug, which led me to create this recipe.

I want to preface this by saying that this is not the best dessert you’ll ever have—it probably doesn’t even make the top 100. Do not expect something on par with your grandma’s apple pie. But it’s quick, cheap, and fills the apple-shaped hole in my heart. 

For the best possible ingredients, I recommend foraging around Hewitt during breakfast. Lunch works too, but you need to get a little more creative. I didn’t wake up in time for breakfast, so my images reflect the lunch substitutions. Don’t be like me—get real granola.

Ingredients: 

  • 1 apple
  • ¼ cup of granola
  • 1 tbsp. of brown sugar (stolen from the oatmeal station) 
  • 1 tbsp. of maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. of cinnamon 
  • 2 butter packets 
  • Optional: Vanilla soft serve 

Lunch Modifications: 

  • Substitute Rice Crispies for granola.
  • Substitute raw sugar from the coffee station for brown sugar. 
  • Substitute caramel syrup from the ice cream station for maple syrup.
  • Beg one of the cooks for two butter packets.  

Instructions:  

  1. Chop up your apple into bite sized pieces. If necessary, ask several neighbors to borrow a knife until you find one. 
  2. In a mug or microwave-safe dish, place the chopped apple, butter packets, sugar, and the majority of the cinnamon.
  3. Microwave in 30-second increments until soft, stirring in between. The total time depends on the size of your apple chunks; mine took 2 minutes. 
  4. In a separate cup, mix the granola with the syrup and remaining cinnamon to form the topping.
  5. Place the topping on your cooked apple mixture.
  6. Optional: Top with vanilla ice cream if you were blessed by functioning Hewitt soft serve (clearly I was not). 
  7. Eat while imagining you’re in an apple orchard and don’t have ten assignments due at 11:59 pm. 
Step 2
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Step 4
The Final Product

All images via author