Malkie's Versatile Apple Cobbler

Whenever my mother would place sweet side dishes, such as this one, on the table, my father would always remark, “Why are you serving dessert now?” It’s a bit of a joke in our family. I’m sorry to state the obvious, but the reason sweet fruit cobblers are served with the main dish is because of the delectable combination of sweet and savory! It’s definitely a modern day zach (Yiddish word for thing)! It may even be an American zach because Israelis are very into their salty and savory for the main dishes. Not that we have eaten with too many authentic Israelis, but that’s just the vibes I’ve been getting.

My favorite aspect about this cobbler, besides the fact that it’s easy and delicious, is that I don’t need to worry about placing it in a serving dish. All I need to do is gently place a spoon on top of the topping, and it looks elegant enough to grace the table with its mouthwatering presence!

One Thursday night, I realllly wanted to make an apple cobbler, so I called my reliable and resourceful sister. I just wanted something that was tried and true. As she was telling me the recipe, she was listing different possible additions I could add to the cobbler, and then in a moment of inspiration, she was like, “It’s very versatile this cobbler! How about you call it, ‘Malkie’s Versatile Apple Cobbler’.” And that is exactly what I did J.
Hope you like it!

Malkie’s Versatile Apple Cobbler:

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Yields: 8 servings

Ingredients:

Crumb topping:

1 cup flour

1 cup old fashioned oats

½-3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup oil

Apples:

Approximately 4-5 McIntosh apples, peeled and cored

Optional versatile additions:

1 cup blueberries

Or

1 cup cranberries

Or

1 cup sweet cherries

Instructions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.       Mix topping ingredients together. You could either do this by mixing it with a hand held mixer in  a bowl, or you could put the ingredients in a zip lock bag, zip the bag securely, and then mush the ingredients together with your hands until well combined (Malkie’s secret trick to save time on washing dishes).

3.       Grate apples on the medium or large or thinly slice with a knife.  Try and work fast so you’re apples do not brown.

4.       Place your apples in dish that you would feel comfortable placing on the table- AKA: oven to table dishes. I use a simple glass pie dish, but you could use pottery or cornware or whatever!

5.       Top your apples with the versatile addition of your choice (optional). Then top everything off with your crumb topping.

6.       Place the cobbler on the middle shelf in your oven and bake for 45 minutes

7.       Let cool.