Grumble Crumble

Despite my grouch-tastic post yesterday, I really do love autumn, and I’m excited for some cool, bright, fall days. I love fall fashion: the textures, the colors, the layers, the opportunity to wear something different than a sundress and a bun. I love the seasonal fruits and veggies, and I love that they don’t spoil as quickly as the delicate summer stuff does. I love the cozy comfort foods of fall, and I love that it’s not too hot to cook. I love that it’s not “too hot” or “too cold” to do pretty much anything you want to do, aside from swimming or sledding. I love fresh school supplies, even though I don’t have a good reason to buy them. I love the change and the newness of all of it. (But I still HATE THIS RAIN.)

Since those of us in the northeast are stuck in this awful winter preview, but still have access to summer fruits, here is a half-assed recipe that is a fully-awesome way to use up a bunch of fruit before it goes bad. While a chilled bowl of berries was lovely last week, this week, I want something warm. This is a great thing to make when you want something good, but you don’t feel like doing a whole lot, or even looking up a recipe. You can probably just remember this, because it’s basically a formula, and it’s a good thing to know.

Much like you can make pretty much any fruit into a margarita, you can make just about anything into a crumble. The most basic crumble topping is equal parts butter, sugar, and flour. Mix those things up, sprinkle it over the top of a pile of whatever, and bake at 400 until it’s done. That’s all you really need to know.

I happened to have a pint of blueberries, a pint of strawberries and a pluot. (A pluot is a cross between a plum and an apricot, which somehow ends up being larger than either.) So I used that, but you can use almost any fruit, except the tropical ones. But who knows, maybe?

Cut up the fruit that requires cutting, then toss all the fruit with a little flour and sugar. I used two tablespoons of each for the amount of fruit I had, but it seriously doesn’t make that much of a difference. Use your judgment. If you are using fall fruits like apples and pears, you might want to add some cinnamon or something. But only if you feel like it.

For the topping, I used ¼ cup each of flour, sugar and butter, which seemed like it gave me the right amount of crumbs. (If you’re not sure, make extra.) It’s easier to mix when the butter is slightly softened and cut up into pieces; then I just use a fork, breaking up the butter as I go. If you have a pastry cutter, I bet that would work way better than a fork. Make sure it looks crumbly, but definitely stop mixing before it looks like breadcrumbs.

I divided the fruit into 6 half-cup ramekins, because that’s what I have. You can use whatever kind of baking dishes or bowls you have, as long as they are oven-safe. (You can also use one big dish, but then you have to make sure no one steals all the crumb topping.) Put them on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet, because they might overflow a little while they cook. I kind of heap up the fruit, because it cooks down a lot. Spoon the crumb topping (aka “The Best Part”) over the fruit. Bake at 400 until golden brown and delicious-looking. I cooked mine for about 20-25 minutes. Let cool for a little bit before serving, because what comes out of the oven is basically crumb-topped lava. You “can” top with ice cream, but it’s not mandatory (kind of it is though, unless you are trying to pass it off as breakfast.)

Can you use whole wheat flour? Probably! Can you add some rolled oats? I bet! How about brown sugar? For sure! Basically, now that you have the general knowledge of how it works, you can pretty much do whatever you want. Which is EXACTLY what I like to do.