How to Prepare an Apple Oatmeal Crumble

The joys of crumbles and crisps are really endless- they're easy to put together, can be made from a wide variety of pantry items, are super delicious, are one of the most healthy desserts. Another great thing about crumbles and crisps is that they're extremely flexible-- if you have apples on hand today but pears or nectarines the next, the recipe is easily adaptable. You can also combine different fruits-- like apples and cranberries, or nectarines and plums, depending on what you're hankering or what is in season. Scraping together a good crumble or crisp can be done in next to no time-- read this article and I'll tell you exactly how!

Ingredients

Filling
8 cups apples, sliced into sections, with or without skin
1 cup cranberries, frozen or fresh
1/4 cup granulated sugar
*1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp flour
1 tbs lemon juice

Crumble
1/2 all purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup butter, cut into squares
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
(optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts)

*The sugar can be played around with depending on the desired sweetness of the crumble and the tartness of the apples used.

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the filling, coating apples and cranberries evenly in the sugar.

In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, rolled oats, sugar, nutmeg, chopped walnuts, and salt. Then slice the butter into the dry ingredients-- chunks are fine! You can alternatively combine all of these ingredients in a food processor, along with the butter. if you prefer.

Grease a 9 inch pie pan with butter. Then evenly spread the apple filling mixture into the pan. Next, pour the crumble topping over the apple mixture, taking care to coat the apples evenly.

Bake the apple oatmeal crumble using the middle oven rack for about 35-40 minutes or until the top of the crumble is evenly browned and the apple filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and let it cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

The apple oatmeal crumble should be served with vanilla (or french vanilla) ice cream. It keeps well in the refrigerator...if you can manage not to eat the whole thing in one go!

Experimenting
As said above, crumbles and crisps are extremely forgiving desserts-- so go ahead and experiment with your ingredients. Try different fruits or different toppings like pecans and walnuts.