From Our Kitchen to Yours: French Berry Crumble

There is something both extremely elegant and comforting about a berry dessert. How can you fail to get excited about the unexpected tangy zest that cuts into anticipated sweetness, the textural complexity that your fruit of choice adds to the pastry and sauce it's nestled in - and the added bonus of having a little nutritional value to assuage your guilty conscious who always pipes up when you contemplate that second slice. Now I'm aware that the majority of women out there don't think it's worth the calories if it's not smothered in chocolate, but I'm confident this decedent little crumble can hold it's own, even when competing with dessert giants such as brownies or chocolate cheese cake. And if it doesn't satisfy your needs, nothing says you can't top the whole thing with a dollop of hot fudge!

Ingredients:
24oz Morello/Dark Cherries*
1 cup frozen fruit (consider raspberries, blueberries, strawberries)
1 cup flour
1 cup instant oatmeal (T.J.'s whole grain cranberry is my go-to)
3/4 cup firm butter (many crumble recipes advocate for more butter, I don't think it's missed at all here, but feel free to add more if desired)
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

(*this is the amount needed, already drained. If you live near a Trader Joe's, you can find these in 24.5oz jars, buy two and drain the juice and you have the right amount.  You can also substitute cherry pie filling - to cut down on some of the fake sweetness that comes with the filling, rinse the majority of the sweet syrup off of them. With the syrup cut down, you will probably need 3 cans to equal the correct proportion)



Directions:
Pre-heat oven at 350. Drain the cherries and pour them into a 2 1/2 quart baking dish (a 9x9 casserole dish will work as well). Add frozen fruit and one tsp of cinnamon and stir until mixed. In a medium bowl stir together flour, oatmeal, sugar and cinnamon. Chop firm butter up into small pieces and add to the bowl along with the vanilla. With a fork or fingers (fingers really is the easiest) blend the butter into the dry ingredients until you have formed a stiff and sticky crumble. Crumble your mixture on top of the fruit and place in the oven until the top is a golden brown (approx. 30 min). Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream and enjoy!