Apple Cranberry Crisp

She is too fond of books, and it has addled her brain.

Louisa May Alcott

In 2014 I posted a blog on one of my favorite writers, Louisa May Alcott whose birthday is  November 29. Coincidentally she and her father Bronson Alcott share the same birth date.
http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2014/11/louisa-may-alcott-and-homemade-food-gift.html

Alcott was often inspired by familiar elements when writing her novels. The characters in "Little Women" are recognizably drawn from family members and friends. It was originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. The novel follows the lives of four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March—detailing their passage from childhood to womanhood, and is loosely based on the author and her three sisters. It falls into the genre of coming of age.

In 2016 I took on the Jump Into A Book ReadKidsClassics Challenge. 
http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2016/10/its-october-time-to-jump-into-kids.html

Valerie Budayr, children's book author, publisher, co-founder of Multicultural Children's Book Day and creator of jumpintoabook site encouraged readers of all ages to either read or reread children's classics. So I reviewed one of my all time favorite children's classic, "Little Women" and posted my review on Ever Ready.

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Jo, Beth and Amy March came from a family where money was scarce. Often they had to make do with very little. I think they'd like Cranberry Apple Crisp. It takes advantage of fall harvest bounty found in the New England region where they lived. 

Cook's Notes:
I used a 9 x 9 glass pan.
Filling  Ingredients:

• 5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced. 
• 1/2 bag fresh cranberries (6 oz.)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 tsp.vanilla
• zest of one orange
• 2 TB. flour
• 1 tsp. Saigon cinnamon

Topping Ingredients:

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. Saigon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup chilled butter, cut in small pieces

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a baking dish 8x8 or 9x9. 

For filling: 

• Whisk together brown sugar, orange juice, vanilla, zest, flour and cinnamon. Stir in apples and cranberries. Spread evenly in a baking dish.

For topping: 

• Stir together oats, nuts, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt.  
• Work in butter with hands until pea sized or add topping ingredients to food processor and pulse a few times. 
• Sprinkle evenly over apple cranberry mixture.
• Bake 25 minutes or until cranberries are bubbling and topping is lightly golden. 
• Serve warm with ice-cream.