Cranberry Streusel

Cranberries and I haven't always been friends. As a kid, I hated them. This was likely because they aren't sweet by themselves and my parents made me drink the juice, which at the time tasted awful (grapefruit juice had the same effect on me, except I never got over that aversion). This dessert was inspired by a bag of cranberries I had packed in the freezer. Cranberries are known for being a holiday food (and I've loved that quality in recipes like Cranberry Chicken), but make a good flavor in non-holiday foods like granola bars an cranberry orange muffins (yum!). I love pies and dessert bakes, and was just in the mood to throw something together.



I went with my gut on ingredients, adding some water, lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, mint, coriander, rum, and vanilla together on the stove with some cranberries then heated the mixture to a simmer..

In a small bowl, I made a simple streusel topping with some chilled butter, self-rising flour, and brown sugar. I chopped up the butter in the bowl with the sugar mixture, using a knife to cut the butter into small bits so the sugar and flour mixture would coat the pieces.

I simmered the cranberries for right about 20 minutes, until the skin was softened.

I then sprinkled the topping over the cranberry mixture and let it cook for 5-10 minutes, until the butter melted and a slightly golden crust formed on the top.

For something I just threw together, this turned out awesome and is definitely a great alternative to a pie. Streusel has worked out great for me on top of pies, also, like with my other cranberry dessert experience, Cranberry Struesel Pie. This went especially well with ice cream, and got demolished pretty quickly. Plus, I didn't add a whole lot of sugar, so this was manly just cooked fruit. And just like that, a perfect dessert was made.

Cranberry Streusel Recipe

Ingredients:

3 cups cranberries

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon mint

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1 tablespoon rum

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoons flour

For the topping:

1/4 cup self rising flour

1/4 cup walnuts

2 tablespoons chilled butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions:

Ass cranberries, water, lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, mint, coriander, rum, and vanilla extract together in a cast iron skillet. Simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes, until cranberries are softened. In a small bowl, add flour and brown sugar; then add 2 tablespoons of chilled butter. Use a knife to chop butter into small pieces and coat the pieces. Sprinkle on the top of the cranberries and let cool for 3-5 minutes, until butter is melted and topping is light brown in color.