Vegan Rosemary-Scented Pecan Crumble with Spiked Cranberry-Orange Filling

Yield: 8 servings

I know that a cranberry recipe in April seems odd, especially for a southeastern cook, but I actually have a good explanation:

Each month, as you may or may not know, Better Homes & Garden Magazine runs their "Prize Tested Recipe" competition. I've actually won or placed a couple of times in my pre-vegan (though vegetarian) days. The monthly call is for recipes in either of two categories that will be published about 6 months later. Hence, the winners of the "Cranberry Sweets" category that I entered will run next fall.

The recipe I submitted is a favorite that I created for our families' annual Thanksgiving celebrations a few years back. However, I made a few alterations. For starters, I knew that BH&G would never choose a recipe that called for "vegan butter" as the original version of my crumble does. So, I thought about canola margarine as a substitution, but I wanted something even more widely available; I decided to try good 'ole canola oil. It worked beautifully!

Knowing, though, that such a change might compromise the flavor, I decided to boost the recipe in that department in several ways. First, I added brandy, orange zest and cinnamon to the filling. Yum. But the real inspiration was what I added to the crumble: fresh rosemary, along with a hint of cinnamon. Double-yum!

If a homespun warm cranberry crumble is not something you find yourself craving this spring, I hope you'll bookmark it for the fall. It really is already a winner in my (cook) book.


Filling:
*1 bag of fresh cranberries, picked over, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons brandy
Zest of one large orange

In a medium saucepan, mix together first four ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool. Stir in brandy and orange zest.

*Note: During months when cranberries aren't widely available, you may substitute two cans of whole berry cranberry sauce for the bag of cranberries, water and granulated sugar. Don't heat them, simply pour them to a bowl and stir in remaining ingredients.


Crust and Crumble:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour (or ½ all-purpose and ½ whole wheat flour)
1 cup old fashioned oats, uncooked
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
½ cup canola oil
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans

Mix together first eight ingredients with a fork. Drizzle with oil and mix with the fork or your fingers until crumbly. Spoon half of this mixture into 8 or 9-inch pie pan, preferably glass or ceramic. (I use a deep dish ceramic pie pan.) Pour filling over to cover. Mix pecans with remaining pastry mixture and crumble evenly over filling. Bake 30-35 minutes or until nicely browned. Let cool slightly before serving.