Friendsgiving Hosting & Apple Crisp Bites Recipe

Last year I hosted my first Friendsgiving (Thanksgiving, with your friends) at my parents’ house and this year, settling into my new dwellings, I was excited to host again in my own apartment! Prep began the moment I got out of bed and consisted of a thorough cleaning of my entire apartment. I also had to do some rearranging, because my usual set-up was not going to fit eight people. I pushed two fold-up tables together and utilized my benches and borrowed chairs from my mom for seating. We moved my table to the side to hold all of the food and give us space to eat. I don’t have a lot of dish and silverware normally, so I decided that compostable plates and reusable, plastic silverware was the best way to go. It was an easy set-up that utilized my space well.

The great thing about Friendsgiving is that everybody brings a dish or two and before you know it, you have a whole table full of delicious entrees and a belly ready to fill up. For the second year in a row, I decided to tackle the turkey. With guests arriving at 5:00pm, I had to start turkey prep around 1:30pm. Andrew was a huge help, cleaning out the turkey and doing the slimy work that I could not stomach. I handled the slathering of butter and spices on the outside of the turkey and shortly after 2:00pm, the turkey was in the oven to cook for two hours. By 4:00pm, the turkey was out and ready to sit for an hour to an hour and a half before I was able to start carving it.

Overall, I would count this Friendsgiving as a success! Each dish tasted so good and we finished our meal with a dessert that made everyone’s pants fit just a little tighter. I’m thankful that I have friends that make events like this so much fun and let me have two Thanksgiving meals within a week.

Below, I’ve put together a recipe for apple crisp bites. It’s the perfect dessert to round out the main course. It’s also easier to have just a little bite (or five) than committing to a whole bowl of apple crisp.

Apple Crisp Bites

Makes 12 bites (pictured above)

• 2 green apples

• 2 Pillsbury pie crusts

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 cup quick cooking oats

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray muffin tins with nonstick spray.

2. Combine oats, 1 cup of flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and melted butter. Set aside.

3. Mix together white sugar, 1 tablespoon of flour, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.

4. Roll out pie crusts. Take a cup and press into crusts, creating perfect circles. Take circular crusts and place into muffin tins, smoothing the sides to avoid cracks and ripples.

5. Cut apples into small pieces and place into tins, filling them halfway.

6. Sprinkle sugar mixture over the apples evenly, then pour water evenly over the apples and sugar, adding about 1/2-1 tablespoon of water over each tin.

7. Take the oats mixture and crumble over the apples, filling the rest of the tin.

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until bottom of the crust is cooked thoroughly.