Cranberry Apple Crisp

It is November. That means that local stores are finally starting to stock fresh cranberries!

I hate buying the cranberries from the freezer section at my local grocery stores. First off, they are hard to find except in the high end stores. Secondly, they are often freezer burned and full of ice. At least around here they are. Cranberries aren't a popular seller in my area.

So when these wonderful little fruits first appear on store shelves, I grab up 5 or 6 bags to freeze myself. While practically inedible alone, cooked up with a bit of sugar and some other ingredients, these little berries become heavenly, adding just the right amount of tartness to so many wonderful dishes.

Cranberry-Apple Crisp

Filling
2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
2 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
2 Tbsp. flour
1/3-1/2 cup dark brown sugar (depends on how sweet you like it)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Topping
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup old fashioned oatmeal (quick cooking oats will work fine too)

Preheat oven to 375. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.

Toss together filling mixture until well combined. Pour into prepared pan.

Mix topping ingredients together, adding additional flour if needed to make the topping stick together to form small clumps. Sprinkle over the filling.

Bake at 375 for approximately 30 minutes or until topping has browned and filling is bubbling. (Mine took close to 45 minutes since I used frozen cranberries and did not wait for them to thaw.)

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if desired.