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:
