snack saturday

Fruit Crumble

• Fruit mixture:
• 6 cups (1.5 L) prepared fruit: apples, pears, peaches, rhubarb, blueberries - or a mixture -- fresh or frozen
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp. (45 mL) corn starch
• Crumble topping:
• 1 cup (250 mL) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (125) mL butter
• 1/2 cup (125) mL brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. (2 mL) cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease an 8 or 9-inch (20 or 23 cm) round or square baking dish.
2. First make the filling. Prepare whatever fruit you're using. Whole fruit should be peeled, cored and cut into chunks, or thin slices. Berries should just be rinsed and drained. If you're using frozen fruit, it is not necessary to defrost.
3. In a large bowl, toss the prepared fruit with the sugar and cornstarch. Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to suit your taste and the type of fruit -- for example, rhubarb is very tart, so you may want to increase the sugar. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
4. Now make the topping. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl (or in a food processor). If you're using a processor, simply process until it forms a sticky crumble mixture. You want the ingredients to be combined and well mixed, not just pulverized. If you're doing this by hand -- use a pastry blender and chop the ingredients together until it forms sticky crumbs. Sprinkle crumble mixture over the fruit in the baking dish. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the fruit is bubbly and tender when poked with a fork, and the topping is browned.
5. Let cook for about 5 minutes before serving with ice cream or whipped cream.