Cranberry-Apple Slump

When I travel by car, I often alter my route, so I can visit towns with interesting names. Salt Lick, Kentucky. Nimrod, Texas. Blue Eye, Arkansas. Ten Sleep, Wyoming. Slapout, Oklahoma. All are towns I visited simply because I was drawn in by their names.

I'm the same way about recipes. Tabboleuh. Cheesecake Truffle Bombs. Sex in a Pan. Kuchen. All are recipes I tried because I liked their names. Today I bring you a Cranberry-Apple Slump, the cobbler's twice-removed cousin.

It won't win a beauty contest, but it's functional. It's a dessert that can be prepared on your stovetop, so on those summer days when the temperature reaches triple digits, you won't have to turn on the oven. Topped with a little ice cream, it's a great summer dessert.

Cranberry-Apple Slump

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 1 cup chopped peeled tart apple
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (You could also use any combination of fruit)
• Optional: a teaspoon or two of orange zest
  
• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup white sugar

Dumplings:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/3 cup milk

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, combine the fruit, water and sugar; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk; stir just until moistened. Drop into 3-4 mounds onto simmering fruit. Now at this point, you'll be a bit worried because the topping will simply pool on top of the filling, and you'll think: This will never work. However, after you cover and simmer, you'll have a puffy, moist dumpling, and who doesn't enjoy a puffy, moist dumpling?
   
3. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a dumpling comes out clean. Serve warm with ice cream.
   

My first true love is still any fruit crisp, the comfy quilt of desserts, but on days I feel like kicking off the covers, I'll settle for a slump.

Do something fun this weekend,
muddy

P.S. Check out the link to History and Legends of Cobbler, Crisps, Crumble, Brown Betty, Buckle, Grunts, Slumps, Bird's Nest Pudding, Sonker, & Pandowdy

It looks like I need to tackle the Grunt and Sonker, and even though I've heard of a Pandowdy, I've never made one.