Apple Crumble

Blogger.com and I have been quarreling about vertically oriented photos all morning so you might want to put your sideways glasses on before reading...

My mom always made apple crumble (or as some say apple crisp) when I was growing up.  While I love apple desserts of almost any variety- a crispy oatmeal streusel crust atop perfectly spicy-sweet-tangy tender apples can't be beat.  I typically have all of the ingredients for this recipe on hand at any given time so it is often the perfect answer to weeknight sweet tooth attack or an impromptu dinner party.

This recipe serves 4.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Apple Filling:

3 large apples (I like honeycrisp or granny smith)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

scant 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
zest of an orange (only use half)
zest of a lemon (only use half)
juice of a lemon

Peel and slice the apples.  I slice the apples as thinly as possible to ensure they get nice and tender while baking.  Toss the apple slices in a large bowl with all other ingredients until the apples are evenly coated. 

Transfer the apples to a medium size BUTTERED baking dish.  A 9 x9 square dish would work, I like an oval dish because that's what my mom always used.

Crumble Topping:

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

pinch of salt

1 stick of cold butter, diced

**I actually added 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed as well which packs a mega nutritional punch of omega threes. You won't even notice its there.

The easiest way in my experience is to measure all ingredients into a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on medium speed until the mixture starts to come together into large crumbs.  This could take 1-2 minutes.  If you let it go too far, it will come together like a cookie dough which is hard to spread over the apples- so keep an eye on it.

If you don't have a standing mixer- you can use your hands to work the ingredients together, rubbing the mixture between your fingers to break down the butter into crumbs.

Spread the topping over the apples- you might have a bit more topping than you need, but I like a nice thick crunchy layer on mine so I pack on as much as I can...It's my favorite part.

I set the dish on top of a cookie sheet lined with foil to catch any crumble pieces that try to escape and then bake for 1 hour.  The top should be golden brown and you'll see caramely bubbles all around the edges.

Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes (the wait can be excruciating, sorry) and then serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

The soft apples literally melt in your mouth while you get a hearty crunch from the topping.  The balance of flavors from the citrus and warm spices is wonderful.  It really gives it that special something.

More of my favorite fruit crumble combinations:
*Peaches and raspberries or blackberries
*Strawberry-rhubarb
*Pear-cranberry
*Cherry-almond