Dessert is my love language (well that and coffee). So I was SUPER excited to get to experiment in the kitchen a bit to bring ya’ll Thanksgiving desserts! We always bring a dessert to Tyler’s family at Thanksgiving and I have such a tough time deciding what to make because I love them ALL! I think this year I might bring this crumble and a pie. But which pie…gosh, there’s so much to decide. I digress.
Obviously cranberries are the berry of Turkey day, so I thought it would be cool to make something that included them, and apples just make sense to pair them with. Choose an apple on the sweeter side though, like a gala or fuji because you want the sweetness of the apples to help balance out the mouth puckering tart you get from cranberries!
Usually pie has my heart, but I love a crisp or crumble because I can get more fruit per serving vs. a pie and it feels a little lighter to me. It’s just a big bowl of fruit just topped with a little bit of sugary, buttery, crumble goodness. Plus it’s a great way to use up all of the seasonal fruit you might have around from your CSA or farmer’s market (we have a TON of apples)! On top of that, they are just so easy to make. The hardest part is peeling and cutting fruit! Once that’s done, you just mix up the crisp topping, top the fruit and pop it in the oven. We love a low maintenance dish over here at Megan B. Well.
Did you know that cranberries have the same heart-smart flavonoids that are commonly found in red wine and grapes? These compounds help reduce risk for cardiovascular disease by helping to reduce inflammation.
Often crumbles have a metric ton of butter added into the topping, making it a bit heavier and just sort of a fat bomb in each serving. I replaced a lot of the butter with pumpkin puree, which worked really well. It adds a bit of a fall flair to the dessert without having an overpowering flavor, and it cuts the saturated fat in the recipe way, way down. It’s a win win!
Top this dessert with some homemade whipped cream or your favorite ice cream flavor- I chose some strawberry because it was what we had on hand, but vanilla would be a great choice too!
Want more Fall inspired recipes? Download my Holiday Recipe Ebook!
Cranberry Apple Crumble
Ingredients
For the topping:
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed tightly
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ stick unsalted butter
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
For the filling:
- 8 large apples peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4 inch thick chunks
- 2 cups cranberries fresh or frozen
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a 9 x 13-inch, baking dish.
- To make the topping: mix the oats, flour, brown sugar and salt together in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter, maple syrup, and pumpkin and mix well. Put the topping in the freezer while you assemble the filling.
- To make the fruit filling, toss the apples, cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, maple syrup and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Transfer the filling to the prepared pan and spread it out, pressing the fruit down into the corners.
- Press the crumble evenly over the fruit, covering the entire mixture.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the crumble is lightly golden and the filling is bubbling up in the corners.
- Cool for about 20 minutes and top with ice cream or whipped cream.
