Blue Cheese Apple Crumble: A Fall Fruit Dessert

Written by Rebecca Peters-Golden

Whenever I watch cooking shows like Chopped, where the challenge is to make something amazing with limited ingredients, I find myself thinking, “Oh, yeah, I would love to do that!”

And yet, somehow, every time I unpack my grocery bags only to realize I’ve forgotten a key ingredient in what I was about to make, I find myself swearing a blue streak, often with frustrated foot-stomping.

But, if there is one truth I have come to accept about myself over the years, it’s that I would rather exert a huge amount of effort in the kitchen than the small amount it would take to go out and buy the ingredient I’m missing.

Hey, know thyself, right?

A few years ago, I was having friends over for dinner. I’d planned my menu, gone to the grocery store, and had everything ready. Or so I thought–cue the theme from Jaws.

I began to make my deliciously autumnal apple crumble with the apples I’d picked the day before, but when I got to the topping, I found I was out of butter.

How could this have happened, I whined?

I pawed through my fridge, freezer, and pantry, looking for a butter substitute–nothing. I cursed myself for being a loner shut-in who wasn’t friends with a neighbor I could borrow from.

My guests were due any minute, so I couldn’t run out to the store. But then . . . then I looked in the fridge and saw that I did have blue cheese.

Could I use blue cheese in my topping instead of butter? It’s a similar consistency; it would blend with sugar, nuts, and oats, wouldn’t it?

Reader, I used it.

It wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot: it was overpowering and got a little too melty, so it trickled down into the fruit. Still, the taste was interesting. I decided to try it again.

The blue cheese apple crumble recipe I’ve perfected only has a hint of the cheese’s savory richness to complement the mild fruit and autumnal spice.

This recipe works well well with pears, too, my other favorite fruit for a crumble. I’ve also used brie in place of the blue cheese for both, which is excellent.

If using a softer cheese like brie, I mix chunks of it into the topping, rather than blending it, which gunks up the food processor.

With apple season just around the corner, why not spice up your crumbles with the best year-round ingredient: blue cheese!

Blue Cheese Apple Crumble

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Blue cheese apple crumble adds a hint of savory richness to a traditional fall dessert. Try it with pears and brie cheese too!

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Ingredients

Filling

• 5-6 medium apples or pears
• 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces; 100 grams) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from half a lemon)

Topping

• 2/3 cup (140 grams) packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (40 grams) rolled oats
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces; 57 grams) pecans
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Core and seed the fruit and chop into rough 1/2-inch cubes.
3. Stir the sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, pepper, bourbon, vanilla, and lemon juice together in a large bowl.
4. Add the fruit and toss until combined.
5. Pour into a deep 2-quart baking dish or 10-inch pie pan.
6. Add the sugar, oats, pecans, butter, and cheese to the bowl of a food processor.
7. Pulse just until blended into a crumb-like consistency. If you blend too much, it will become a paste.
8. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit.
9. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until your topping is toasty and golden brown.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 182Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 135mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 5gSugar: 17gProtein: 2g

The nutritional information above is computer-generated and only an estimate.

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