TWD: Cran-Apple Crisp

Cranberries. If you're like 90% of the US population, your first thought is that jellied cranberry sauce that comes around on Thanksgiving. It schloops out of the can, and you can cut perfect rounds of it, using the ripples from the tin can as guides. And at the risk of alienating people, I love that jellied cranberry sauce. It's perfect for making sandwiches with - some turkey, a little stuffing, gravy, and a round of that sauce. Make it open faced, and it's a fork-and-knife reminder of how awesome Thanksgiving foods are.


But no worries - my taste buds have matured past that cranberry jelly. Now I crave cranberries in other forms - cakes, scones, muffins, chutneys, chunky sauces, and crisps. So when Em picked the cran-apple crisp, I nearly danced with joy. I did, in fact, immediately head to the stores to buy bags and bags of cranberries. Well, just two, but still! Lo and behold though, I ran out of time to make them the weekend the bf and I were at my apartment. Instead of carting the bags of cranberries, I figured I'd buy some when I got to Madison.

But... but... I couldn't find any! This is a disaster of epic proportions!! Not only could I not make the crisps, I couldn't make any other cranberry goodies I wanted to - the scones! the muffins! the quick breads! I was, to say the least, distraught. So I did what any reasonable person does in this situation - I hunted down a produce person and grilled them about the projected ship date of said cranberries. C'mon, Wisconsin is the largest producer of cranberries in the US - we should have cranberries!!!


So you can understand my sheepishness when he, um, pointed to a corner (very small! tucked away! darkly lit!) where there were bags of cranberries. I quickly got over my embarrassment (you have to, if things like this happen to you very often), grabbed two more bags of cranberries, and zipped back to the bf's apartment. Scant hours later, a cran-apple crisp was born. Angels rejoiced. And I was a very. very. happy person.


Disclaimer: I upped the cranberries by 50%, because I lurve them. I'd probably double them next time though, as cranberries are not better in moderation. Coconut wasn't getting anywhere near this crisp topping, so I doubled the amount of oats in it instead - no harm done. And, even though I might again be stoned for saying this, I'd probably halve the amount of crisp topping next time. I like topping with my apples, not vice versa.

Last Week: Chestnut Cake, Plain and Simple
Next Week: Sugar Topped Molasses Spice Cookies (second time around, and these are still drop-dead tasty - MAKE THEM)