Blueberry Pie Cupcakes

Let's be honest: Fruity desserts are kind of wimpy. If I'm investing in calories, I want to go rich: chocolate and peanut butter and caramel and so much sugar my tongue hurts. I don't want some delicate, flaky little pastry posing as dessert. I need decadence.

But, lately, I've been on a blueberry kick. It started with blueberry fro-yo, which I discovered is quite delicious when paired with graham cracker crumbs, fresh fruit, and marshallow creme. (Trust me. Try it.) Then it was blueberry pie. I had to eat it, really—I was, after all, at a blueberry festival. 

As much as it pains to me to say it, it was incredible. 

So I was proven wrong. Fine. I'm okay with that. But I'm not ready to give up on decadence just yet. My compromise: I flipped the typical filling-crust ratio, creating a pie-inspired treat with lots and lots of crust and just a little filling. That way, I don't have to be that obnoxious person who serves myself a giant piece of crust and leaves behind the fruit filling. (I have no problem doing this.)

The final product was incredible. I filled cupcake liners halfway with crust batter, baked it, then piled on homemade fruit filling and oatmeal crumble and baked it again. It had all the buttery, flaky goodness of pie crust packed into a handheld vessel, and just enough fruit to justify it as breakfast.

Blueberry Pie Cupcakes
Adapted from Cakespy 

What you need

The crust
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 ½ cups flour
¼ tsp salt 

The filling
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup brown sugar
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 Tbsp cinnamon

The topping
½ cup walnuts
1 ½ cups quick-cooking oats*
1 cup flour
 ¾ cup light brown sugar  
1 tsp cinnamon  
¼ tsp baking soda  
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened  

*I used 2 packets of Quaker Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal, plus ½ cup plain oats. I liked the extra maple note.   

Put it all together

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place liners in a cupcake pan.
2. To make the crust, beat the softened butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Then add the flour, and mix on low speed until well-combined.
3. Spoon the dough into the cupcake liners, filling them about halfway. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Let cool completely.
4. To make the filling, heat the butter and brown sugar in a skillet over high heat. Add the blueberries, stirring occasionally (making sure to scrape the bottom of the skillet) for about 8 minutes. You can add a little bit of water if necessary to prevent scorching.
5. To make the topping, toast the walnuts for about 8 minutes. Let them cool, then chop them up. Combine the walnuts, oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda, and use two knives to cut in the butter until a coarse mixture forms. (Hint: Use your hands to create ½" clumps, which will yield a crispy crumb, rather than a loose crumble.)
6. Place a tablespoon of blueberry filling in the center of each pie crust cup. Top it with a liberal portion of oat crumb. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crumb is lightly browned and crispy.

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