Even though I’m no stranger in the kitchen, there remain a few areas I’ve yet to conquer. I still cannot bake a respectable pie, and since Ed learned this important life skill in college, I rarely bother to try. How many pie bakers does one family need?

I am a big fan, however, of that show-off Pie’s less glamorous step sisters, Crumble, Cobbler and Crisp. Unlike fussy pie, which can taste so bad when not done properly, crumbles, cobblers and crisps are kind of hard to screw up. I’ve had good ones and I’ve had great ones, but I’ve never had terrible ones. This recipe I’m sharing is a great one.

Nate and I made this lovely blueberry crumble yesterday, and it’s as easy as it is delicious. Sous chef Nate suggested adding some cinnamon to the crumble, and I thought that was a marvelous idea.

Blueberry Crumble adapted from The Farm: Rustic Recipes for a Year of Incredible Food by Ian Knauer, original recipe posted on Leite’s Culinaria here

Filling:

12 ounces (about 1 pint) fresh blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Crumble:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a nine inch pie plate. In a medium bowl, gently combine blueberries, sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine all ingredients in crumble except for butter. Thoroughly wash and dry your hands, even if you just did so recently. This is important! Now, with your clean hands, smoosh the butter pieces into the dry ingredients until well combined but still clumpy.

Pour blueberry mixture into buttered pie pan. Top with crumble mixture. Bake about 30 minutes, and allow to cool slightly before serving. Serve plain (boring!), with whipped cream or with vanilla ice cream. As you can see, our family easily devoured this in one sitting — the true mark of a winner!