I have made many pies in my life, but I can honestly say that they are not my favorite thing to make. Don’t get me wrong — I love to eat them, but I find the whole pie making experience excruciatingly laborious. First you’ve got to make the dough, then you have to chill it — then you have to roll it out and guess what? — you’ve got to chill it again. For some pies, the crusts need to be pre-baked (blind baked), and for fruit pies, you’ve got to peel and slice the fruit while cooking others before you pour them into the crust. The entire process simply tries my patience in the worst way.
Cobblers, buckles and crumbles on the other hand are easy to throw together and taste so good. Cobblers have either a biscuit or batter type of topping that quickly comes together and is spooned or poured over the prepared fruit. Buckles on the other hand are made with a cake batter that is poured into the dish, topped with fruit and then streusel. All of it is baked together and provides you with a delicious and comforting dessert.
I also like to make all kinds of crumbles. Traditionally, this type of dessert was comprised of fruit, a little sugar, spices, a little bit of flour or cornstarch, then topped with streusel and baked. The streusel used in a crumble does not generally contain nuts or oatmeal — those desserts are called crisps for obvious reasons, and are just as delicious and comforting.
My all time favorite crumble is apple. I discovered that if you use a combination of large diced apples and shredded apples along with some apple juice, you will get the perfect texture and consistency for this dessert. If you end up doubling the recipe, make sure to put a sheet pan under your baking dish to catch any juices that may run over.
Apple Crumble Filling
6 large apples, peeled, cored and diced in large chunks (use granny smith or apple you prefer)
2 large apples, shredded
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 level tablespoons cornstarch
½ stick butter (dot on top of apples before adding crumble)**optional
½ cup sugar
½ cup fresh apple cider or apple concentrate in water
I keep a container of frozen apple juice in the freezer because I love to add either apple, lemon or orange concentrate into the water that is called for in a recipe. If you choose to do the same thing, take 1 tablespoon of the concentrate and dissolve it in ½ cup of water, then set it aside. Next make the streusel and keep it chilled in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Peel and dice the 6 large apples, the peel and shred the other 2. Place everything in a bowl along with the flour or cornstarch, sugar and cinnamon. Mix everything together and make sure that it is well incorporated. Pour this into your greased baking dish, pour in the apple juice, dot the top with butter and then add the streusel evenly over the top.
Bake this at 350° for 45 minutes to 1 hour until golden brown on top and you see that the filling has thickened and is bubbling around the edges of the dish. Mine usually takes about an hour. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving. Serve warm with ice cream, lightly sweetened whipped cream or plain Greek yogurt.
Streusel Topping (enough for 2)
1 sticks cold salted butter
1 cup flour
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
Add all of the ingredients together into a bowl and cut the butter into nugget pieces. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to combine the butter with the other ingredients until it resembles a coarse meal, then set this aside until ready to use.
Leave a Reply