Cranberry, Apple, and Raisin Crisp

Do you ever find that your enthusiasm gets way ahead of you?  No?  Well, me neither, but Mr. O-P is quite another story.  He thinks that if a 12-oz. package of fresh cranberries is good, that a 3-pound package must be GREAT!  Sigh.  So having made all of the cranberries that I had intended to make for Thanksgiving, I now find myself with more than I know what to do with.  Expect to see them in various decorative holiday arrangements, floating on top of a bubbly cocktail, and baked, like these were, into a tasty crisp.

I found this recipe on the Cooking.com website.  I changed it up a bit based upon what I had on hand.  Instead of using just an orange, I used a bag of Melissa’s Kishu Mandarins.  They are so juicy and full of flavor that just breathing the air around you while peeling them gives you a sense of having one of those juicy segments in your mouth.  So I zested two of them for the zest called for in the recipe, and juiced enough to make up the half cup.  I swear to you that using mandarins in place of a regular orange will do wonders for the scent and flavor of any dish that you happen to be making.  I also cut back a teensy bit on the cranberries, using 10 ounces, and used three apples of various types, one Granny Smith, about five of Melissa’s cute little Organic Crimson Gold Apples, and a Honey Crisp.

As far as the process, well, I changed that too.  I find there is seldom a need to deal with pastry blenders or buttery fingers when a food processor is on hand.  I have reproduced the recipe as found on the website below, but I combined the oats, the ½ cup flour, and the brown sugar in the work bowl of a food processor, pulsed three times to blend, then added the butter and pulsed 8-10 times more until small crumbs formed.

The end result was the perfect blend of sweet and tart, with just the right amount of crunchy.

Cranberry, Apple, and Raisin Crisp

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, divided

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

5 1/2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 12-ounce package cranberries (about 3 cups)

2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup raisins

3/4 cup granulated sugar

Grated zest of 1 orange

1/2 cup orange juice (from about 1 orange)

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, the 1/2 cup flour, and the brown sugar. Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture until small crumbs form.

In a large bowl, combine the cranberries, apples, raisins, granulated sugar, the 2 tablespoons flour, orange zest and juice, and the cloves. Transfer the fruit to an 8-inch square glass baking dish or a 2-quart soufflé dish.

Top the fruit with the crumb mixture. Bake until the fruit is tender and the crumb topping has browned, about 45 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

This post is linked to:

Full Plate Thursday

Be Inspired Friday

Foodie Friday

Seasonal Sundays