Cranberry & Apricot Crisp

Celebratory yet homey, easy-to-make yet festive, this lovable crisp makes use of late fall's only berry in a delectable dessert. The sparkling jewels of fresh cranberries are paired with dried apricots to make a fine seasonal finish to any early winter dessert. It takes more sugar than usual in the filling because cranberries are so tart. Simpler to prepare and lower in fat than a typical two-crust pie, this would be as fine a finish to a Thanksgiving dinner as it would a casual family meal or potluck. This is the recipe CD showed on the WEEKEND TODAY Show and demonstrated in detail on DAYTIME (Tampa, Florida). Hope you will enjoy it as much as hosts and crews on both shows did (not a crumb left within three minutes once the cameras stopped rolling). *Serves 8, generously*
Ingredients for filling:	Ingredients for topping:
1 1/2 cups dried apricots, preferably sulphite-free* 1 1/2 cups boiling water 2 quarts fresh cranberries (about 1 1/2 pounds), picked over, rinsed cooking spray (such as Spectrum canola spray, or original Pam) 1 1/2 cups sugar, or to taste 1/3 cup unbleached white flour	3/4 cup rolled oats (regular, not quick-cooking, oatmeal) 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/4 cup unbleached white flour 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature (or 1/4 cup softened butter + 1/4 cup mild vegetable oil, such as canola, corn, or peanut) 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, or Rapadura** 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, optional

Directions:

1. To make the filling, place dried apricots in a heat-proof bowl, and pour boiling water over them. Let soak 1 to 2 hours. Meanwhile, pulse-chop in 1 cup cranberries in processor to make a very chunky puree. When apricots have finished soaking, chop them coarsely (they may be easily quartered with a kitchen shears). Combine apricots in a medium-large bowl with whole and pulsed cranberries, soaking water, and sugar.

2. Preheat the oven to 375. Spray an 8-by-12 inch baking dish or 12 inch gratin pan with cooking spray.

3. Sprinkle the 1/3 cup flour over sugared cranberries and apricots. Toss well, and transfer the mixture to the prepared pan.

4. To make the topping, combine the oats, flours, brown sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the softened butter or butter-oil mixture. Using your fingers, crumble the butter into the dry ingredients so a coarse, nubbly mixture is created. Drizzle in vanilla, add optional nuts, and toss well.

5. Scatter the topping evenly over the fruit. Bake until topping is golden brown and firm, with little springs of bright garnet cranberry bubbling up here and there, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool slightly. Serve warm, if you like with vanilla ice cream, vanilla frozen yogurt, or vanilla Soy Delicious (a soy-based ice cream that really is delicious!)

* All about apricots: typical store-bought apricots are lovely-looking: bright golden, soft, and pliable. There's only one or two small problems: they've been treated with sulphites to give them those qualities. Problem one: many people have severe asthmatic reactions to sulphites; this can be a late-in-life, sudden-onset allergic reaction that is truly terrifying and puzzling to those who get it. Problem two: while tasty, these sulphited apricots cannot compare in flavor to the sulphite-free, though ugly-looking, brown apricots you can buy at a natural foods market. Usually from Turkey, these dark brown apricots are extraordinarily sweet, and, when hydrated as in the recipe above, are worlds tastier.