Easier than pie: Apple Crumble

An apple crumble is my go-to dessert when I want to make a dessert, but don’t feel like spending more than five minutes.

You don’t even need a recipe after you’ve made this once. All you need is some apples (or other fruit), butter, flour, sugar, and an oven. Cinnamon is a nice touch with the apples, but not necessary.

As always with baking, choose apples that are tart and crunchy and will hold some texture after they’ve been baked. The lemon juice is to prevent browning. The crumble topping (a streusel topping) is easy and delicious and should not be restricted to use for apple desserts.

Apple Crumble

Ingredients:

4 apples
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Peel and core the apples and cut into fairly large chunks. Toss them in the lemon juice. Take about 1/4 cup of the brown sugar and 1 tsp of the cinnamon and toss with the apples to coat. In a bowl, mix the flour and the rest of the brown sugar and the cinnamon. Cut the butter into the mixture and smoosh it around with your hands until the mixture ressembles crumbs. With the apples in an oven-safe dish, top with the crumbly topping. Place uncovered in a 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the apples are tender. Serve it with vanilla ice cream, hot from the oven or room temperature.