i’ve been peeling and chopping those apples we picked on the weekend.

we only picked half a bushel, but a half a bushel is still a lot of apples.

today i made some apple crumble. i love crumbles because they use few ingredients, go together quickly and are not at all fancy pants. you know me, yoga pants only ;-)  you can make the filling out of whatever you want (last year i used fresh-picked pears), then just add the delicious topping (it has a graham-cracker consistency…which, by the way, is the best part of a cheesecake if you ask me. and thanks a lot for not asking me, leaving me hanging out there. -sigh-).

here’s how i make apple crumble…

filling:

i peel, core and chop apples to make about 4 cups of apples.

i put the apples into a pot and add 1/4 cup sugar (most recipes call for more but depending on the type of apple, you might find it sweet enough; i try to use less sugar when possible, mostly because it horrifies tara when i don’t hehe.), along with the juice of half a lemon (about 1 or 2 tablespoons lemon juice), and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. 

i bring the mixture to a boil on medium heat and try not to get dizzy over the delicious smell. if i find that the mixture is too thick and not “bubbling” enough, i add a few tablespoons of water. if it is too watery, i mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water and add that to the apples to help thicken the sauce. once it is boiling, i lower the heat and let it simmer until the apple pieces are almost cooked through. the mixture will be further cooked in the oven once the topping is made so they don’t have to be cooked right through at this point.

this particular batch i made turned slightly mushy upon boiling (again, depends on the type of apple and how large the pieces are chopped) and that’s ok. it had the consistency of chunky applesauce rather than crispy apple pieces.

topping: 

in a bowl, i add 1 cup flour (whole wheat or pastry flour), 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and cut in 1/4 cup of butter. i don’t have a hand-held pastry blender which is what is recommended for blending the butter into flour…but i find that a fork pressing the butter against the side of the bowl works just fine. other alternatives include working it with your hands, using two knives, or using a food processor and pulsing the flour/butter combo.

i pour the warm apple mixture into a small casserole dish, and top it with the flour mixture. into the oven at 400 degrees and i check on it at about 20 minutes. (if the dish i’m using is filled to the rim, i put a baking sheet underneath to catch the drips that may bubble over. you know, if i remember. before the smoke alarm beeps. it beeps often. saves me from testing the batteries.)

when it’s done, the topping should be crumbly and browned, and a toothpick inserted into the apple mixture should come out clean. sometimes it takes up to 30 minutes or so.

{ can you smell it? :-) }