Fruit crumbles are probably one of the easiest desserts you'll ever make, and a fantastic way to use up leftover fruit. What drew me to them initially was that I've never been a fan of pastry, so a traditional pie has never been my thing-not to mention that pastry making was kind of my nemesis for awhile as I learned and practiced how to make it.
Years ago we used to go to a little restaurant that would have all kinds of crumble choices; peach and raspberry, pear and cranberry, apple, and more. Feel free to play around with whatever fillings you want to create with this recipe-it's pretty open to whatever your heart desires! In the pictures I made plain apple and then apple and blueberry, because I had berries to use up but not enough for a solid blueberry on it's own. You can change the amount of sugar in the filling (more if you want, less if you want, none if that's how you roll), and even the thickening agent. Some fruit needs a little help to not become watery, such as frozen blueberries. Some is pretty thick from natural pectin all on it's own.
The amounts for the filling is also open to interpretation. Generally, I fill up my dish nearly to the top before piling the topping over the fruit, making sure to cover every little space. It may look completely overfilled and impossible at the time, but remember that the fruit will cook down. I love to have a good amount of fruit to hold up against the oatmealy topping.
Fruit crumble is fantastic not only as dessert topped with creamy vanilla ice cream, but I am known to eat it for breakfast with a dollop of thick Greek yogurt. Hey, it's fruit and oatmeal, why not?
Yield: a 9x9 inch baking dish (or about 6 servings)
Ingredients:
Crumble Topping:
1/2 cup whole barley flour (if gluten free sub the barley and sunflower flours for gluten free flour)
1/4 cup sunflower flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup rolled oats
Filling:
Blueberry
5-6 cups of fresh blueberries
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp barley flour, all purpose flour, or 2 tsp tapioca starch (gluten free)
Apple, peach, or pear
4-6 medium/large apples OR peaches, OR pears (try a combination!), peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2-3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp barley flour, all purpose flour, or 2 tsp tapioca starch (gluten free)
Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Find a 9x9 inch ceramic dish, or you can use two smaller dishes and make 2 different kinds of crumbles if you like.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flours, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the oatmeal and then, using your hands, squeeze clumps of the mixture together to make some chunks of topping. You want there to be some so that when it cooks you'll have chunks of filling that become almost cookie-like. Put the bowl in the fridge so that the clumps harden up a little.
3. Next, prep your filling while the topping chills. Toss it all together and fill up your baking dish.
4. Pull the chilled topping out of the fridge and pile the oatmeal goodness over the fruit, covering it all to the edges. Place the dish on a pan so that it catches any overflow and place in the center of your hot oven.
5. Bake the fruit crisp about 50-60 minutes, until the topping is browned and the fruit is bubbling and soft. Remove from the oven and let stand for about 15 minutes before serving.
6. Try not to eat it all one go.
