Cranberry Apple Crisp

Apple crisp is one of my husband's favorite desserts.  I was a little reluctant to mess with it at all.  Somethings just don't need improvement.  But I found this recipe on Cooks Country (see I told you, obsessed) and thought it was the perfect time of year to throw cranberries into a crisp.  This isn't overly sweet, in fact it has a nice sweet-tart flavor.  The two different types of apples and two different styles of cranberries gives it a nice rounded out flavor and texture.  I would stay away from generic brands of dried cranberries.  I used the off brand from Walmart.  They were too dried out and so became a bit too chewy.  Again maybe it's just my oven, but it didn't seem quite cooked enough.  I like my apples a little softer, but maybe that's just a preference thing.  Test it after 30 minutes and see what you think.  I think I'll tack on another 10-15 minutes next time.  This smells fabulous as it cooks and there are make ahead directions (LOVE THAT).  Just give yourself enough time to peel, core, and slice 5 pounds of apples.  My apple peeler-corer-slicer and I don't have a good relationship and I did it all by hand.  It takes a long time.   Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and prepare to be comforted. 
 
Cranberry-Apple Crisp
Prep Time: 30 minutes-45 minutes (longer if you're dumb like me and are peeling by hand)
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 8-10 (those would have to be pretty generous portions)

Ingredients:

TOPPING:
¾ c. all-purpose flour
½ c. packed light brown sugar
½ c. granulated sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon
12 T. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
¾ c. old-fashioned oats

FILLING:
1 pound cranberries, fresh or frozen (about 4 cups or 1½ bags of cranberries)

1¼ c. granulated sugar, divided
¼ c. water
2½ lbs Granny Smith apples (6-8 apples), peeled, cored, and cut into ½” pieces
2½ lbs. Braeburn apples (6-8 apples), peeled, cored and cut into ½” pieces (I used Fuji because I have an abundance of them)
1 c. sweetened dried cranberries
3 T. Minute Tapioca
Directions: FOR THE TOPPING: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400°.  Pulse flour, sugars, cinnamon, and butter in food processor until mixture has texture of coarse crumbs (some pea-sized pieces of butter will remain), about 12 one-second pulses.  Transfer to medium bowl, stir in oats, and use fingers to pinch topping into peanut-sized clumps.  Refrigerate while preparing filling.

FOR THE FILLING: Bring fresh cranberries, ¾ c. sugar, and water to simmer in a Dutch-oven (or a pretty good sized pot) over medium-high heat and cook until cranberries are completely softened and mixture is jam-like, about 10 minutes (a little longer if your cranberries are frozen).  Scrape into bowl.    Place in the dutch-oven the apples, remaining ½ c. of sugar, and dried cranberries, cook over medium-high heat until apples begin to release their juices, about 5 minutes.  Off heat, stir cranberry mixture and tapioca into apple mixture.  Pour into 9x13 pan set inside a rimmed baking sheet (to catch drips) and smooth surface evenly with spatula.  Scatter topping evenly over filling and bake until juices are bubbling and topping deep golden brown, about 30 minutes.  If topping is browning too quickly, loosely cover with aluminum foil.  Transfer to wire rack to cool.  Serve warm.

MAKE AHEAD:   After pinching the topping into small clumps in step 1, transfer the mixture to a zipper-lock bag and refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to a month.  The cooked filling can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.  To bake, sprinkle the chilled topping evenly over the chilled filling, loosely cover with foil, and bake for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake until the juices are bubbling and the topping is deep golden brown, 15-20 minutes longer.