Crumblin' Down

I love pie but I'm not a fan of pie crusts, and besides that I'm terrified of making my own dough I've learned how to make my own crusts and they're a pain in my ass. It's crumbles, then, and thankfully this crumble is where it's at. Seriously. I've made more of them in less time than I care to admit. Inspired by this lovely recipe, but of course and as always modified to be awesome because that's how I roll.

Cherries and apples are, so far, the best, but it's also amazingly good with strawberries, blueberries, and peaches. No news yet on what happens if you mix fruits, but you know? I'm willing to bet that it is delicious.

Uploaded for Amy because she's dear to me.

Edit: Updating this to double the recipe because 13x9" of pie is better than a square pan of pie, duh. 

Crumblin' Down

Ingredients

Filling
- 2 lb (32 oz)  fresh fruit of some kind - cherries, strawberries, blueberries, you get the picture.
- If using apples, 3 Granny Smith apples + 1 tsp cinnamon + 1/2 cup sugar + 2 Tbsp flour

Double the recipe
- 4 lb fresh fruit OR
- 5 Granny Smith apples plus 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 cup sugar, 4 Tbsp flour  

Crust/crumble
1 cup flour ----- 2 cups flour**
3/4 cup oats ----- 1 1/2 cup oats**
1/8 tsp salt ----- 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar ----- 1/2 cup sugar*
1 tsp molasses ----- 2 tsp molasses* 
6 Tbsp butter, melted ----- 12 Tbsp butter, melted***

* Or, use brown sugar: 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup for single/double. 
** Use gluten-free flour and oats and voila!  The pie becomes gluten free.
*** Use vegan butter and suddenly your pie is vegan!

Do both ** and *** and you'll have a pie that is vegan, gluten-free, soy-free (make sure your vegan butter is marked soy-free for this), nut-free, and still delicious.  This makes those in your life with allergies very happy, really it does.  Highly recommended.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375*F.
2. Chop up the fruit.
1. If using cherries, pit and quarter them. This takes about 2 episodes of Stranger Things for a double recipe.
2. If using strawberries, halve, then quarter the halves (so eighth them, I suppose)
3. If using apples, slice each half into quarters, then cut those into quarters, so each apple should yield you ... what, 64 pieces?  You want them bite-size, is what I'm saying.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the fruit with the sugar and flour.
4. Let it sit there while you make the crumble part. This allows the fruit to juice and become awesome.
5. In a 9x9" baking dish (half batch) or 13x9" baking dish (double batch), combine flour, oats, salt, sugar, and molasses with a rubber spatula.
6. Add the melted butter and mix until it's all combined.
7. Take out 1/2 cup (1 cup double batch) of the stuff and save it back for the topping.
1. Really pack it into that measuring cup.  You'll have plenty for the bottom crust, and the crumble-y top is AMAZING.
8. Press the remaining crumble into the bottom of the pan.
9. Dump the fruit mix in and make sure it's all even and stuff.
10. Sprinkle the reserved crumble over the top.
11. Bake at 375* F for 45 minutes. Allow to cool at least 2 hours before serving.

I made an apple version of this for Tau Day at work this year (2019) and joked that it was a not-pie for Not Pi Day. Exactly 1.5 people snickered at my joke.  I'm calling that a win.