Cran-Apple Crisps (TWD)

As a thin-blooded native Californian, I was reaching for my fuzzy slippers and huddling under a flannel blanket last night as the temperature dipped into the 40's. Okay...you can stop laughing at my weather wimpiness, as I get enough mocking at home courtesy of my hubs. As a New Jersey native, he thought last night's temperature was "refreshingly crisp" and sat next to his shivering wife wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

The hubs and I will forever disagree about how we define cold weather, but we both agreed that this warm Cran-Apple Crisp was the perfect sweet ending to our evening meal. With a short and sweet ingredient list, this recipe can be assembled in a flash. I used a combination of winesap and orin apples that came from Ha's Apple Farm.

For those of you who are SoCal based, I highly recommend that you visit Mr. Ha's stand at your local farmers market (I've seen his stands in Hollywood and Santa Monica). He offers a fantastic variety of apples and they are all super delicious - his fujis are da bomb!Don't be shy about piling a generous amount of the cinnamon ginger crisp topping into the ramekins. Once they are baked, the ingredients settle into a sweet mass of warm and spice-scented deliciousness...
A scoop of vanilla ice cream is an absolute must for this dessert...
Overall, I thought this crisp was yummy! As the crisp topping is sweet, I didn't think the fruit base needed too much additional sugar, so will make a note to dial down the sugar quantity in the fruit mixture. As the apples I used were not overly juicy, I halved the amount of flour called for in the recipe, and the crisp didn't get soggy... it was perfect!

I had quite a bit of crisp topping leftover, and used it the next day as a delicious and not-so-heathly mix-in for my morning oatmeal.

Thanks Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef for this delicious TWD selection. Please visit Em's blog for the complete recipe.

Cherry Cobbler (TWD)

Since joining this fantastic cooking group Tuesday's With Dorie, I've had a wonderful time cooking thru Dorie Greenspan's baking book, and making recipes that I typically wouldn't have considered trying. With that expanding of horizons (and waistlines) came buying food items that typically wouldn't occupy my pantry. As a result, my cupboards have been overflowing with baking remnants from prior weeks. Not that these items would go to waste (hate the thought of that), I've been consciously trying to get thru these supplies before purchasing anything but the essentials at the market. This exercise was put to the test with this week's selection, Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler, which comes courtesy from Amanda from Like Sprinkles On A Cupcake.
Cobbler is a wonderfully flexible and forgiving recipe, where you can mix and match a variety of fruits. I could have gone to the farmers market with a TON a great summer fruit on display, but I was determined to not buy any additional ingredients for this recipe. I went with mini-cobblers in three small, shallow ramekins, so made only half the filling and one-third of the topping. I dug out an almost full bag of cherries from the freezer (Trader Joe's brand), and supplemented it with a small handful of frozen raspberries (aslo TJ's) to get the right quantity of fruit. I had the rest of the ingredients at home, so things were looking good! I've never seen or tasted rhubarb before...and it looks like I won't be experiencing it any time soon (couldn't even tell you where to find it in my area). To add the tartness that rhubarb would have provided, I added the zest and juice of one lime. Aside from adjusting the recipe size and the rhubarb substitution, I followed the recipe as written. As these were mini-cobblers, baking time was reduced to 30 minutes.

The smell in the house while the cobbler was baking was wonderful and comforting! I also loved pulling the just baked cobbler-ettes out of the oven, with the filling still bubbling and steam emitting from the dish:


Naturally, this cobbler had to be served with a scoop of homemade vanilla bean ice cream. I spooned the still warm cherry filling over the ice cream, and I love how the ice cream melted into a creme anglaise sauce:

I have to admit that I really enjoyed this dessert (and I'm not a huge fan of cobblers). Just comparing the toppings, it definitely trumped the cobbler that I made a few weeks back. The topping in this recipe has more of a cakey texture, which I personally prefer over a biscuit topping, and I enjoyed the slight sharpness in flavor coming from the ginger. The cherry filling was delicious (couldn't tell that the fruit was frozen), and the lime added a terrific tartness. Next time, I think I'll play with the recipe to enhance the ginger flavor, maybe with some crystalized ginger (if my pantry can make room for it!).
To see the 200+ beautiful cobblers made by fellow TWD bakers, check out the blogroll. For the recipe, Amanda has it posted here.

Peach Blackberry Cobbler & Crisp (TWD)

It was a friggin' hot this weekend in So Cal!!! I'll be the first to admit it...I'm a total weather wimp...anything that deviates from a sunny and temperate 75-80 degrees constitutes a climate crisis! We tried to be good citizens and not keep our air conditioning going around the clock to conserve electricity. One way to keep our house cool this weekend was to not cooking indoors (fruity, frosty cocktails by the pool didn't hurt either). The nice by product of our conservation efforts was doing a lot of great grilling on the barbeque. I almost made it through the entire weekend without turning on the range/oven...

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie selection, Mixed Berry Cobbler, was selected by Beth at Our Sweet Life. I missed out on making the peppermint cream puff ring last week, and was thinking of bailing this week as this recipe involved turning on the oven. I quickly changed my mind when I was at the farmers market, as I was inspired by all of the juicy and fragrant peaches, and decided to go for it and make a mini-cobbler.... and I'm so glad I did! Besides, the group is so much fun to bake with, I couldn't miss out on the action!


I don't frequently make or eat cobbler. I'm more of a fruit crisp person, as I like the flavor and crunch of the brown sugar, oats and nuts in a crisp topping. As I had extra fruit filling, I went ahead and made a mini crisp...after all, I had to put my taste buds to the test!

I decided to pass on the berries. Instead, I went with fresh peaches and blackberries, and put my own spin on the filling:

Fruit Filling
(this is enough for a 9x13" pan. I only used a quarter of the recipe to fill 2 small ramekins)
- 4 C peaches, large dice (if you cut up peaches too small, they will disentigrate when baking)
- 1 1/2 C blackberries
- 1/8 C honey
- 1/8 C maple syrup
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1-2 tbsp quick tapioca (depending on juiciness of fruit)
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- dash of salt

I prepared the topping as written, but quartered the recipe. I did add just a 1/8 tsp of cinnamon for a little spice. The mini cobbler only took 22 minutes to finish in the oven at 375 degrees.

I was a little worried by the initial feedback about this recipe, but I really enjoyed the final product! I thought the topping had a nice flakey, crunchy biscuit texture and I didn't think it was too doughy or bland. I think of cobbler toppings as a vehicle to highlight the fruit, so I'm glad that it didn't overwhelm the delicious peach and blackberry filling. Also, perhaps it's a function of the topping, but I also liked that the blackberries held their shape and didn't disentigrate (it was a whole diffent story on the crisp...read on below).




I had some mascarpone ice cream in the freezer, and it was a decadent experience to have this creamy delight melt into the still-warm cobbler.

As mentioned above, I also made a mini-crisp, using the same fruit filling. For the topping, I went with my standby recipe, which follows below (only used a quarter of the recipe and still have some leftover):

Fruit Crisp Topping (makes enough to top a 9x13" pan)

- 6 tbsp butter
- 1/2 C flour
- 1 C quick oats
- 3/4 C brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- dash of salt
- 1/2 C sliced almonds

Combine the dry ingredients, then using your fingers incorporate int the butter. Do not overmix, as the mixture should have a crumbly texture. Crumble on top of fruit filling. The mini-crisp took 22 minutes to bake at 375 degrees.

I loved the texture of the crunchy topping with the warm syrupy fruit underneath. Unlike the cobbler, the blackberries kinda exploded and disentigrated into the peaches, creating a reddish pink filling. Tastewise, the fruit was just as flavorful.

So, has this week's experience changed my love for fruit crisps? Not exactly, but I'm willing to give this cobbler recipe another chance in the near future. If you're interesting in taking this recipe for a spin, Dorie Greenspan shares the original recipe for Mixed Berry Cobbler here. To see more delicious cobbler creations, check out the Tuesdays With Dorie blogroll.