Apple Cranberry Pecan Crumble (+ Homemade Decadence book review)

Apple Cranberry Pecan Crumble

Welcome to the holiday season! I hope that you have lots of fun activities and recipes lined up for the upcoming holidays! I have one cookbook to add to your holiday list (for giving and/or receiving!) and recipe to add to your holiday baking list! Today I am reviewing Joy Wilson's (better known as Joy the Baker) Homemade Decadence and also including an adaption of one of her recipes from her book, Apple Cranberry Pecan Crumble.


The Review:
Joy's book is very inspired and she includes slight adaptions or variations on classic recipes, such as chocolate chip cookies where she throws in some smoked sea salt and roasted pistachios or her Banana Bread Biscotti where she adds bananas into her biscotti so that it's reminiscent of banana bread. I love that she sometimes replaces pie crust for puff pastry and is not afraid to line regular pie crust with pretzel twists. And I love that she makes pancake syrup with bacon and that she drizzles syrup over her blueberry muffins. The fact the she admits and publishes the little quirky things that she enjoys says to the world that it's okay to eat things the way you want no matter how weird others may think it is because when you're treating yourself to something special, enjoying your food and eating it how you want to eat it is all part of the experience.

I find Joy's palate so similar to mine that reading her cookbook in its entirety (in one sitting) was extremely thrilling for me! She has a penchant for the sweet and salty, decadent yet comforting, and impressive yet simple recipes which are usually the recipes that I am drawn to and make myself and my family. Her cookbook incorporates little indulgences to everyday recipes to make your day just a little more bright and, dare I day, decadent.

If I had to find one critique with this cookbook, I would  have to say that the chapter on brunch seems a little out of place for me. The entire book is dedicated to sweet indulgences with recipes devoted to pies, cakes, and other desserts, so the brunch chapter seemed like it belonged to another cookbook dedicated to meals and comfort food. A breakfast sandwich made of kale kind of interrupted the flow of the book for me. However, with that said, I still enjoyed the chapter and found some lovely recipes in that chapter that are already on my list of things to make, like the French Onion Quiche. And the next time I make blueberry muffins, I will definitely drizzle it with some pancake syrup!


The Recipe:
The recipe that I'm sharing with you today is adapted from Joy's Pear Cranberry Pecan Crumble from her book and includes changes to suit my tastes. To be honest with you, I'm not a huge fan of pears. They're something that I continuously pass up. I'm not usually a texture person, but I'm not a fan of the grainy texture of pears; pears taste wonderful, I'm just not a fan of the graininess. So if you like pears, feel free to substitute six to eight pears for the apples! The other changes I made to the recipe is to double the recipe as well as to incorporate lemon zest and add in more lemon juice (which are all reflected below). I also made this using gluten-free all-purpose flour, but you can use regular all-purpose flour (this substitute is not reflected below). This crumble is sweet and tart and buttery that is easy to put together and has some holiday flavor that will contribute to the festiveness of the holidays.


This book review is sponsored by Blogging for Books. While I received a complimentary copy for review, the opinions in this review are entirely my own. 

Apple Cranberry Pecan Crumble
Adapted from Joy Wilson's Homemade Decadence

Filling:
3 Fuji apples, peeled, cored and diced
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
2 c. fresh cranberries (can be frozen)
6 Tbs. granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 Tbs. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Zest of one lemon

Topping:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (can use gluten-free all-purpose flour)
1 1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
2/3 c. old-fashioned oats
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. unsalted butter, cold and diced into small cubes (2 sticks)
1 c. pecans, chopped


Preheat oven to 350.

In a 9x13 baking dish, add apples and cranberries. Add the granulated sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, lemon juice, and lemon zest, then toss to coat the fruit mixture.

For the filling, whisk the flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a medium sized mixing bowl or food processor. Add the butter to the mixture, cut the butter into the mixture until pea-sized crumb form. Add in the pecans, and toss to coat.

Take about 1/3 of the crumb mixture and add it to the fruit mixture, then mix well. Take the remaining 2/3 of the crumb mixture and sprinkle evenly over the fruit mixture.

Bake on the center rack of the oven 40-45 minutes, or until bubbly and slightly browned on the top. Remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes before serving.

Makes 10-12 servings.