GRANOLA CRUMBLE BREAKFAST PIE

​makes one 9” pie
 
For the crust-
 
1 cup white-whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur)
¾ cup old-fashioned oats
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ cup (4 oz.) cold, unsalted butter cut into cubes
2 tablespoons cold apple cider
 
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
 
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom. Use your fingertips to incorporate the butter cubes with the dry ingredients making sure it is well combined but there are still some larger pieces of butter in the mix. Drizzle in the cold apple cider and use a fork or your fingers to incorporate it into the crust. Loosely gather the mixture together (without packing it tightly) and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the crust mixture for 15 minutes. Lightly butter a 9” glass Pyrex pie plate. Retrieve the crust mixture from the fridge and sprinkle it evenly over the bottom of the pie plate (it should be about ¼” thick) and then use your fingers to evenly pat the remaining crust mixture up the sides of the plate. Refrigerate the pie crust for 10 minutes. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake on the middle shelf of the preheated 375 degree F oven for 8 minutes. Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven and set it down on a heatproof surface. Use a ¼-cup measuring cup to gently press the crust down. Return the baking sheet with the pie plate to the oven and bake an additional 6-8 minutes, just until golden. Set aside to cool on a rack while you prepare the topping and the filling.
 
For the crumb topping-
 
¼ cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¾ cup old-fashioned oats
⅓ cup white/whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon cardamom
¼ cup (2 oz.) cold, unsalted butter, cut into ½ “ pieces
¼ cup walnuts, almonds, or pecans, coarsely chopped
 
In a large bowl, stir together the brown and granulated sugar, the oats, flour, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom. Add the butter pieces, tossing them to coat with the crumb mixture until the butter is incorporated with small pieces of butter still visible. Stir in the nut pieces. Place the topping mixture in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
 
For the filling-
 
2-3 baking apples (about one pound) peeled, cored, sliced thin (choose apples that are flavorful and hold their shape; I used Macoun and Honeycrisp)
2-3 firm but ripe pears, peeled, cored, sliced thin (I used Bosc and Anjou)
1 cup assorted fresh or frozen berries (raspberries, strawberries and/or  blueberries)
(Note: You should have 5 cups of fruit, total)
zest and 1 tablespoon of juice from one small lemon ¼ cup dark brown sugar
1-2 tablespoons good quality maple syrup (depending on sweetness of fruit)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cardamom
2 tablespoons cornstarch
 
Place the fruit in a large bowl and toss with the zest and lemon juice. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, cardamom, and cornstarch. Add the sugar/spice mixture to the fruit, turning to combine with a rubber spatula.
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Scrape the mixture into the cooled pie shell. Retrieve the crumb topping from the fridge and sprinkle it evenly over the fruit. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake on the middle rack of the 375 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Cover the top of the pie with parchment paper (to prevent over browning) and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. The fruit should bubble around the edges and the crumb topping should be golden. Set aside to cool before slicing.  Serve with plain, unsweetened yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup, if you wish.