Apple, Cinnamon and Pecan Crumble and a short Valentine's Day review

Last Wednesday I went to Ladies Night at a cinema nearby with a couple of friends. Whenever we get together to go see a movie we always enjoy having diner together too, this gives us the time to catch up on everything. So this time we ate at my friend's C.'s house and she asked me to bring dessert. Why my friends keep asking me to bring dessert over when we have a dinner party is a complete mystery to me ;)

Since it had started snowing again I was in the mood for something warming and wintery. I went to my bookmarks over at delicous.com and searched through them until I came across the perfect dish. I spotted these crumble bars over at Dessert First in September, they looked gorgeous so I simply decided to not make bars but serve this as a dessert. It was delicious!! When I plated the crumb it was actually still warm and gooey. It was a bit too sweet for my taste though... I never thought I would say this, but apparently my tastebuds and preferences have changed since I was sick in December 2009.... Next time I'll add a little less sugar to the crumb. However my friends C., I. and the babysitter M. all loved it and didn't think that the crumb was too sweet at all. Neither did my parents who got to enjoy the leftovers :)

The movie we saw at Ladies Night was 'Valentine's Day'. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you what it's about and spoil the whole move for all of you that still want to go and see it. The three of us really liked it. It reminded me of 'Love Actually' with all the different story-lines within the movie. This is a perfect movie for a girls-night-out: a real feel-good-movie, I personally wouldn't go see it with a (potential) boyfriend.... Visit the official 'Valentine's Day' website for the trailer. Let me know if you saw the movie and what you thought of it!!

Now on to the actual Valentine's Day: I don't really like this day.... First of all I think it's such a commercial day, I prefer for my sweetheart to surprise me with something on any day: not just because it's Valentine's Day. And second of all somehow I've always been single around Valentine's Day, which (like Chrismas and New Year's Eve) is absolutely no fun!!!

Apple, Cinnamon and Pecan Crumble
(adapted from Dessert First)

Filling

3 large tart apples (about 1 3/4 lbs total)

3 tablespoons softened unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Crust

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 egg, room temperature

Streusel

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced

1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Make the filling:

• Peel, core, and chop the apples in 1/2-inch cubes.
• Set aside in a bowl.
• Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium heat.
• Add the apples and sauté for about 8 minutes until the apples are semi-soft.
• Add sugar, lemon juice, flour, and cinnamon to the apples and stir to combine.
• Cook until mixture begins to bubble, then turn heat to low and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Transfer filling to a bowl and let cool while you make the crust.
  

Make the crust:

• Line a 9 by 13 inch pan with aluminum foil, leaving enough to hang over the edge and act as handles to remove bars after baking.
• Grease foil.
• Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
• In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together on medium speed for several minutes until light and fluffy.
• Add egg and mix to combine.
• Add flour mixture and mix to combine.
• Pour the dough into the prepared pan and gently press into the bottom of the pan and about 1/4” up the sides, making sure it is level.
• Set pan aside while you make the streusel.
  

Make the streusel:

• In a stand mixer, combine sugar, flour, and salt and mix to combine.
• Add butter and mix until crumbly and the butter pieces are very small.
• Add pecans and mix just to combine.
  

Assembling the crumble:

• Spread cooled apple filling evenly over the crust, leaving about 3/4” between the pan sides and the filling.
• Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the filling.
• Bake for about 35 minutes until the top layer is golden.
• Cool completely on wire rack before removing.
  
  Enjoy!