After extensive research on the subject I have returned to my original hypothesis: just add bourbon and pecans. That is the secret to southern cooking. Oh and let me tell you, does this ever work out well when you're making a simple early summer fruit crumble. At this time of year, as peaches and little tiny plums are showing up in the market, but are maybe not quite at their eat-over-the-sink peak, tossing them with some bourbon and sugar and baking them with a rich crunchy pecan topping is just the right thing to do.
A fruit crumble has got to be my favorite summer dessert because it is so easy. You don't need a recipe. You don't need a mixer. You don't need to wrap and chill pie dough. Cut up some fruit, enough to fill the pan. Toss it with some sugar if it's not too sweet, some bourbon if it's not too juicy, or a little squeeze of lemon juice if it's really, really both. Put that in the pan you've chosen (I used 4 medium peaches and about a pint of tiny tart plums for a 9 x 9. You can really fill it up because the fruit will cook down.) Get out a smallish bowl to make your topping. The general rule of thumb is equal parts flour, butter, and sugar, but I dumped in about 3/4 c. of chopped pecans, added some spelt flour (maybe 1/3cup?), some sugar (1/2 cupish), molasses (say a tablespoon), and a scant 1/4 cup of butter (that's a bit less than half an earth balance stick). I crumbled that up with my fingertips, put the fruit in the pan, topped it with the crumbly mixture, and baked it uncovered at 350 for about 45 minutes. So flippin' good. Man alive do I love summer.
