Cranberry Nectarine Crumble

Mmmmmm.... these comforting little crumbles only took about 10 minutes or less to put together and then they were already in the oven; SO quick and easy!


I got the idea for this dessert when I went shopping the other day; I saw a huge new assortment of nectarines and peaches in the produce department! I got so excited because I LOVE peaches. The nectarines and peaches were so big and juicy, and what really got me was that they smelled SO heavenly when I walked by! I originally set out to make a peach crisp, but then I remembered that Peter doesn't care for peaches because of their skin. That's okay, I've heard that from a lot of people who have that same problem with them. But if you DO like peaches, you could use those for this recipe too. This time, I used nectarines.


Side Note: There are yellow and white flesh nectarines and peaches. Yellow nectarines and peaches are sweet and slightly tangy. White flesh peaches and nectarines are even more sweet (almost too sweet for me) than the yellow varieties.
I liked these yellow flesh nectarines because they were still somewhat firm for how juicy they were. When baking with fruit, I like to choose ripe fruit that is still somewhat firm. If f goes in too soft already, then it can come out like applesauce when it's finished. If your fruit is super soft, cook it for less time. If your fruit is super firm (like apples), it may require more time.


Recipe (serves 4): 
2 large, ripe Nectarines, diced
1/4 cup Dried Cranberries
2 dashes of Cinnamon
2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed Lemon Juice
1/2 cup Quick Oats
1/3 cup Flour (whole wheat flour works well in this recipe)
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
4 Tablespoons cold Butter

Mix the nectarines, cranberries, cinnamon, lemon zest & juice in a bowl:

In a separate bowl, combine the oats, flour, sugar and brown sugar:

Into that oat mixture, cut in 4 tablespoons of COLD butter that has been diced into many little cubes. Cut/mash with a fork until the butter is somewhat dispersed throughout the oat crumble:

Fill ramekin dishes with the nectarine mixture and then top generously with the oat crumble topping. 

Place ramekins on a cookie shoot so that no fruit juices can ooze into your oven and make a mess: 

Bake these little guys at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes- until the crumble topping becomes golden brown and crispy.

Top with some vanilla ice cream and serve immediately :)