Apple crumble pie with sliced apples, dried cranberries and currants, in a buttery crust with a brown sugar streusel topping.
They say that as you get older you develop more of a sweet tooth. If my parents are any test of this theory, I would have to say, yes this does indeed seem to be true.
When my siblings and I were kids (in the 60s) we had dessert once a month (not counting the coffee cake dad made on Sundays). These days nary a pie recipe gets published that my father doesn’t want to try, especially when I’m around to make the crust.
He made this delicious crumble pie (with a few minor changes from one in Sunset Magazine) a few days ago and it was half gone by noon. There are three of us. The pie serves 12. Did I say it was half gone by noon? You get the picture.
Love apple pie? Check out these apple pie recipes!
Apple Cranberry Currant Crumble Pie Recipe
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cook time: 1 hour
- Coolin time: 2 hours
- Yield: Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
Topping:
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
- 6 Tbsp butter
Filling:
- 6 cups sliced peeled Granny Smith apples (about 2 1/4 pounds)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup brandy
- 1/4 cup dried currants
- 1 cup fresh or thawed frozen cranberries, rinsed and drained
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp finely grated orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 9-inch frozen pie shell (I recommend our super easy, super flaky, sour cream pastry crust)
Method
1 Peel and slice the apples: Peel and slice the apples. Put the slices into a bowl and sprinkle them with lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar) as you work to make them a little more tart (it will intensify their flavor) and keep them from discoloring as you work. Add the cranberries to the bowl.
2 Soak the currants in brandy: Place the brandy and the currants in a small bowl. Let sit for at least an hour, until currants are plump. While the currants are soaking in the brandy, peel and slice the apples.
3 Make streusel topping: Mix together 1 cup of flour and 2/3 cup of brown sugar in a bowl. Add the butter, cutting it in either with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture forms small lumps.
4 Preheat oven to 375°F.
5 Toss apple slices with sugar, flour, zest, spices, brandy, currants: In a separate large bowl mix 1 cup white sugar with 6 Tbsp flour, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Add the apples and cranberries to the sugar mixture and toss to coat. Add the currants and brandy to the mixture.
6 Put apple filling into pie shell, top with streusel topping: Heap filling into unbaked pie pastry. Sprinkle topping over the filling. Set pie on a baking sheet to catch the juices.
7 Bake: Bake on bottom rack until juices bubble, 55 to 65 minutes. If pie browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
Set pie on rack, uncovered, to cool for 2 to 3 hours.
Recipe slightly adapted from Sunset Magazine.
