Time for Dessert!

That is...if you've saved room from all that turkey! And if you're in the mood for a delicious dessert, look no further than the new cookbook from Jessie-Sierra Ross, Seasons Around the Table. She came by Tonia's Kitchen with a recipe for an apple-pear crumble that's absolutely wonderful. It's the perfect dessert for a chilly autumn night, and even better as leftovers in the days after your party. Awesome to eat, easy to make. You can't go wrong!

serves 6-8 

4 large honey crisp apples, peeled & cored

2 large Bartlett pears, washed

1 teaspoon of fine vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

½ cup salted butter, still slightly chilled

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon  

vanilla ice cream for serving (optional, but delicious)  

Preheat your oven to 350F.   Butter a 9×13 baking dish and set aside.   Peel and core your apples. Cut into quarters and then slice thinly (1/8 inch). Then, add them to a large bowl.  

Next, cut the pear from the core, in quarters, leaving the skin on. Slice into a variety of 1/8 inch slices or, into ½ inch cubes (if you want a different texture). Add to the bowl of apples.  

Sprinkle the apples & pears with ¼ teaspoon of salt, vanilla, and cornstarch. Gently mix and set aside.  

In another large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, & cinnamon and mix quickly with a fork. Add the stick of butter, then – using your hands – incorporate the butter into the dry mix. You’re going to ‘squish’ the butter in, using the heat from your hands to melt it slightly. Mix until the butter starts to clump with the flour, and then begin to crumble up the clumps, while also stirring it around. You want the end result to look like a mix of sandy dough with a few larger chunks in there. DON’T OVERMIX!  

Once the dough is ready, take the apples & pears and tip them into the prepared baking dish. Spread the fruit out evenly. Next, spread the “sandy” butter & flour mixture over the fruit, in an even layer.

Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake 40-50 minutes, or, until golden and slightly bubbly.

Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. I like mine to rest for about 40 minutes, so the cobbler is still warm, but not too warm to totally melt the vanilla ice cream I use for topping.  

A Peachy Keen Dessert!

 

And the reason it is just peachy is on so many levels. Belinda Smith-Sullivan, who wrote the new cookbook Just Peachy (see what I did there :)) stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her book and a recipe for Raspberry Peach Crumble. Belinda says it's perfect for entertaining because the crumble is so quick. One Belinda's keys to this dish is mixing the fruit crumble mix with cardamom, which has been increasingly popular. She told Tonia that cardamom goes perfectly with peaches,  and that a number of people are doing that very thing. As for the crumble itself, Belinda combines butter, flour and brown and white sugars. Try it and you'll agree, it's just peachy.

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt½ cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Filling

6–8 peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced

1 pint raspberries

½ lemon, juiced

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, salt and butter. Using clean hands, rub together ingredients until mixture sticks together in small clumps.

Into a deep pie dish, arrange peaches and raspberries. Sprinkle with lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch and toss thoroughly. Spread the topping evenly over the fruit.

Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and juices are bubbling up through the topping, 45–50 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature