Strawberry, apricot & almond crumble

From The Kitchn

There’s nothing that pairs better with a scoop of ice cream than a slice of fruity pie or bowl of fresh, seasonal crumble. Today I bring you the first signs of summer; a downright plucky combo of just-cooked apricots and strawberries, playing host to a golden, almond cookie-enriched topping.

This past weekend, I had plans to make a strawberry something or other when I stumbled across a small bushel of ripe apricots. My eyes lit up and my mind set to work on how I might star them in my dessert. After perusing a few more aisles, I found an almond cookie I’ve enjoyed before and threw that into my basket, knowing culinary alchemy was about to happen.

If I could stay clairvoyant through the mysterious cloud of a recipe swirling in my mind, and let the fruit star in the show, I’d be fine. Turned out I was more than fine — I was thrilled at the results.

This dessert is sassy. It’s punchy. It’s sweet, tart, crunchy, and soft. It hits all the flavor and texture notes and made me wish for more. Hurry up, summer, so stone fruits and berries can make regular appearances at the dessert table. This was just the best start!

Apricot, Almond & Strawberry Crumble
Serves 8 to 10, depending on portion size

For the fruit filling:
12 medium fresh ripe apricots
2 pints strawberries
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

For the topping:
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup oat flour (rye, whole wheat, or millet flour would be great here, too)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
7 almond cookies (such as Twin Dragon Almond cookies)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350°F. Wash and cut all fruit into 1/4-inch slices. You should end up with about 8 cups total sliced fruit. Toss the fruits in a large bowl with sugar and cornstarch, set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the oats, oat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, almond cookies, and salt. Pulse until a uniform crumb mixture is attained. Add melted butter and pulse about 3 times for 5 seconds each time, until butter is evenly distributed.

Pour cookie and flour mixture into a bowl and stir in slivered almonds. Pour fruit into one large casserole dish (9×13″), a 9-inch cake or pie tin, or several smaller tart molds, as I did. The size doesn’t matter all that much, though smaller-sized crumbles will bake faster.

Spoon the topping over fruit mixture, pressing firmly so all the crumble covers the fruit. If you’d like to go lighter, you could use half the crumble topping and freeze the rest for future use.

Bake for about 35 minutes, rotating the pan at 20 minutes until the top is a uniform toasted, golden color. (Begin checking smaller pans around 25 minutes.) Serve with ice cream.

(Image credits: Leela Cyd)

For more on this story go to: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-strawberry-apricot-almond-crumble-dessert-recipes-from-the-kitchn-171573