Monday, October 26, 2009

Apple Cranberry Crisp with Oatmeal Streusel

Apple Cranberry Crisp

A few weeks ago I spotted this amazing picture on The Daily Green's food site and I could not get the thought of the recipe out of my head. I have never cooked with cranberries because they aren't exactly local to Los Angeles, but this recipe sounded too good to pass up. I got some awesome pink lady apples at the farmers market. I normally bake with Granny Smiths, but I wanted something sweeter to contrast the tartness of the cranberries. The pink ladies are sweet and tart and hold up really well while baking. I am definitely going to be using them again for some fall baking. The only change I made besides halving the recipe was to add some cinnamon to the cran-apple mixture and to the streusel topping. Of course that made my apartment smell amazing. One bonus is that this recipe calls for only a little bit of butter so it's pretty healthy. I didn't have the whole wheat flour called for so I just used all-purpose, but the whole wheat would definitely add a nice nuttiness. This is definitely a tart recipe with the cranberries, but I really enjoyed that tartness against the sweet nuttiness of the streusel. I served this with some (melted) honey vanilla ice cream...normally I hate melted ice cream, but it appears my freezer isn't actually freezing things right now and it was surprisingly pleasant with the warm crisp. I have a ton of apple cider left over so please leave suggestions for cider (that aren't doughnuts) in the comments.

PS, you still have a couple of days to enter my giveaway.

Apple Cranberry Crisp


Apple Cranberry Crisp with Oatmeal Streusel
(Adapted from The Daily Green)

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour*
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and diced

Filling:
12 ounces cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons apple juice or cider
3/4 pounds firm apples (I used pink lady apples), peeled, cored, cut into cubes
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine the brown sugar, oats, flour, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl and toss to blend. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles crumbs. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 8x8-inch glass baking dish.

Combine the cranberries, sugar, and apple juice in a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often for about 2 minutes. Stir in the apples and cook until the cranberries are softened and their juices thicken slightly, about 4 minutes more. Transfer the mixture to the prepared dish and sprinkle on the topping.

Bake until the filling bubbles thickly and the topping is brown, about 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

*You can substitute up to 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
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16 comments:

Erica said...

I bet the cranberries and apple work together very well. The topping looks awesome. Love the smell of apples and cinnamon baking- YUM! What a fun treat

Veggie Virginia said...

One of my favorite uses for cider is this sauce:http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Gingerbread-with-Cider-Sauce-4685. The gingerbread is delicious too, but you can put this sauce on anything, vanilla ice cream (assuming you have some that isn't melted), pancakes, baked apples, etc.

Memória said...

Forgive me if you wrote this down on your recipe (I couldn't find it), but what is that white sauce on top of the crisp? Everything looks great!

Teresa Cordero Cordell said...

Esi, now we're talking Autumn. I love anything with apples in it. Sweet and savory. This apple crisp looks delicious.

vanillasugarblog said...

that melted ice cream on top is killer woman. we have cranberries everywhere here, but no cranberry chuntney to be found--go figure. I know I know what you're going to say 'make your own'. got it. lol

Maria said...

I think I just found my Thanksgiving dessert:) This looks amazing!

The Food Librarian said...

Ah... This is beautiful! I love cranberries and apples together! Yummy...and let's get together!

Mary Bergfeld said...

I have a crisp quite similar to this. The apple cranberry combination is really hard to beat. Your crisp looks lovely.

Jenn said...

Awesome crisp. I get the same way, too. One I see a dish or recipe and it gets stuck in my head, I have to make it. I need to get me some cranberries. That one things I haven't used yet this season.

Fresh Local and Best said...

Your apple crisp looks gorgeous! I love the contrast in colors with the cranberries.

Diana said...

Pink ladies are my favorite apple (aside from the Honey Crisp), and cranberries are sort of like crack to me. Well, the dried version are at least! Nice work! Healthy(ish) and loaded with antioxidants and fiber!

Esi said...

Virgina - thanks for the suggestions. I have enough to experiment.

Memoria, that is vanilla honey ice cream on the top.

Dawn, you know what I am going to say ;)

Simones Kitchen said...

apple and cinnamon smells always bring back good memories! And with the addition of cranberries that must have been delicious

Heather said...

i love streusel!! this looks amazing! love the cranberries!

Reeni said...

Apples and cranberries are such a yummy combo! I love the oat streusel! Such a delicious comfort dessert.

Hungry Dog said...

I must make this. I have all the ingredients on hand, it must be fate! Lovely photos.