Apple Cranberry Crumble for A Sweet Punch Series

Its time for another Sweet Punch!

And the timing could not be more perfect. A warm dessert for a cold season, using very seasonal fruits like cranberries that just adds to the Christmas and holiday spirit!

The recipe provided by the Sweet Punch team uses Pear, Chocolate and Almond crumble. But I swapped the fruits with Apple and Cranberries. Can you believe I actually did not make something that had Chocolate in it? What's wrong with me?

I had fresh cranberries at home and really wanted to use them. And so checked for crumble recipes starring cranberries and came across this from Martha Stewart. So, I kind of used both the recipes combined and with a nip here, a tuck there, an addition somewhere, I baked this thing of joy.  I loved the addition of oats and pecans for a crunchier crumble. My husband wished his serving was filled with just the crumble part!

Without further banter, here's the how-to part.

Granny Smith Apples - that's what we want here. Not the red mushy ones. The firm green ones that hold up good in baking. Take a couple of apples. Peel first, core next and then cut into thin slices.  Add 3/4 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries. This much makes about 3 ramekins. Increase the quantity if you want to make more.

Add 1/4 cup of brown sugar to the fruits. Mix well.

Then, add about 1/4 tsp of orange or lemon zest. I had my favorite little cuties oranges - wash them well and then using a little scraper, scrape for some zest. Lemon zest works pretty good too.

Add about 1/2 tbsp of lime juice for a little tartness. Mix everything well.

If you are using a pan or ramekins, grease it well with a little butter. Then pour the fruit filling until it fills half the ramekin. Place all of the ramekins on a baking sheet that will go into the oven.

Now for the tasty crumble part.

Take about 1/2 cup of All purpose flour ( you can also substitute with whole wheat flour) in a mixing bowl.

Add 1 stick of butter still cold but soft, cut into small chunks.

Add 1/2 cup of broken pecan pieces. You could use almonds or even walnuts instead.

Add 1/4 cup of old fashioned oats - not the quick cooking instant variety.

And then add 1/4 cup of brown sugar to the crumble mix.

Then, gently using fingertips, just blend it all together - this will be the crumble to top the fruits.

Wait a min. How did Jessie the cowgirl land on my work board? No wonder my other cut apples were missing.

Top off the fruits with the crumble and send it off into a pre heated oven at 350F for about 25-30 mins.

You'll see that the fruits part is bubbling from underneath and the crumble begins to turn golden or even a little brown.

Can you see the bubbling? The whole kitchen just smells so wonderful!

You could serve it hot with a cold scoop of high quality Vanilla ice cream. Or if you can't wait - just eat this up quickly while its hot.

And there I present to you, the humble crumble. A package of joy inside a cup!

If you're here today and looking at this, you might want to come back tomorrow to look at something else very special. Guaranteed.

Enjoy! Peace Out!