Peach & Blueberry Crumble

I'm not a fruit pie/crisp/crumble person, but boy, do I love them now!!

Peach & Blueberry Crumble (Makes 6 Ramekins)

Fruit:
2 pounds firm, ripe peaches (6 to 8 peaches)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)

Crumble:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in blueberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups.

For the topping, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Squeeze the mixture with your fingers until it's in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the tops are brown/crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature. (You can make it ahead and store unbaked crumbles in the fridge.)

Observations/Suggestions: The peach boiling process is a must. Once the water comes to a boil, carefully put in the peaches and remove the water from the heat. Also, I cut my peaches into eighths, which was the perfect size. Since I did not have light brown sugar, I substituted dark, which I thought made a nice rich flavor. Also, since my butter was frozen instead of cold (oops!), I opted to use a pastry cutter instead of the electric mixer. I had much better control of the butter size and I had less mess. And again, I had no parchment paper on hand, so I made myself realize that I would need to let the pan soak afterwards. No biggie. FYI: Make sure that the ramekins are not too close to the edge of the pan though, they tend to spurt juices near the end. You do not want a messy oven! And, if you don't have ramekins, feel free to use a square 9x9" pan, I think that would work just fine.

Recommended? 100% Yes! Very tasty and attractive for little effort. To make it even better? A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top.