if there is one thing i do really well it is make a crumble. i make all kinds of crumbles - depends on the mood. some of my favorite are plum and raspberry crumble, nectarine and blackberry crumble and straight apple crumble.
my go-to crumble combination is this pear, apple and raspberry one. i always use the same recipe - adapted from the great one - it is the best topping for a crumble i have ever eaten. i believe i have perfected the spices to perfectly enhance the fruit. the apples and pears go so well together and the raspberries give a bit of tartness and color that makes it so very pretty. crumbles are easy to make and everyone loves them.
alex's dad asks for this crumble as his "birthday cake" almost every year :)
apple, pear and raspberry crumble / crisp
adapted from
the great one (ina garten)
4 apples (i use granny smith)
3 pears (i use bosc)
1/2 pint raspberries
Grated zest of 1 orange
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
pinch of grated nutmeg
For the topping:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 14 by 2-inch oval baking dish.
Peel, core, and cut the apples and pears into large wedges. Combine the apples and pears with the zests, juices, sugar, and spices. Gently fold in the raspberries. Pour into the dish.
To make the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, cinnamon, oatmeal, and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment . Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the fruit. (i do this by hand rather than with a mixer)
Place the crisp on a sheet pan and bake for 1 hour until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm.
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these carrot cake cookies almost converted me from a pumpkin lover to a
carrot cake lover. yes, they are that good. the cookie itself is soft
and moist - yet strong enough to hold up as a sandwich cookie. i added
more spice to the mix because that is how i roll. i think it is a major
improvement over the original recipe. i usually could leave the frosting
out of the equation but in this case - the frosting makes these
cookies. the cookie itself is not very sweet and the creamy sweetness of
the cream cheese frosting balances out the cookie with the perfect
amount of sweetness to compliment the spices in the cookie. these carrot
cake cookies would be the perfect picnic or backyard barbecue dessert. 
i love the idea of using rice krispies in a cookie. i have adapted the
recipe a bit by adding toffee and cinnamon but i think the rice krispies
are what make them special. the cookie itself is crisp but the middle
is still chewy. the toffee melts the perfect amount to be chewy but
still hold that toffee texture i love. ever since i made 
these cookies are INCREDIBLE! i am not exaggerating - they are
perfection. the crispy cookie and the white chocolate would be amazing
on their own but the addition of the sea salt - oh my! the salty crunch
on top makes these cookies one of the best i have ever made.Session dataSession data 
these peanut butter and jelly bars fit the bill perfectly. not only are
they simple to make - you can easily double the recipe for a large
crowd. i need my peanut butter to be chunky - the smooth stuff just
doesn't feel like peanut butter to me - so i substituted chunky for
smooth. any kind of berry jam will work great and for those of you
grape jelly fans - that would work as well. i added a bit on honey to
the batter and honey roasted peanuts to the top because i think peanut
butter and honey are naturals together. 
the mixed apple pie was probably one of my favorite pies i have
made because each apple was so different - different flavor and
texture. they combined perfectly. the all butter pastry crust was flaky
and i had a lot of fun making up the top crust. i have done lattice - i
have done full crust - i have done crumble topping. i wanted something
special this time. i took the top crust and cut out circles with a
biscuit cutter and overlapped the circles. it looked like a flower. i
will be using that one again - it makes a traditional pie new again. 
this cake met every expectation i had and then some. i used a different
recipe for the cake because i have one i love and the baked recipe makes
a three layer cake which i thought was overkill. i made everything else
from the baked recipe. this was not an easy cake for me to make as i
seem to be cursed when it comes to caramel but it was worth all the
effort. the balance of the sweet & salty flavors is perfection. the
cake itself is pure decadence but with fleur de sel and caramel it puts
it into a whole other world.
i get why people love these brownies and i am sure they are equally
fabulous on their own but i am telling you they are a little slice of
heaven when marbled with a cream cheese swirl. i upped the amount of
espresso powder and decreased the sugar by a bit because i do that in
most recipes. both adaptations worked really well and i think they
enhanced the deep chocolate flavor in these brownies. 
