Apricot Crumble

I found myself once again having some left over fruit, this time apricots; my little one decided he likes the way apricots look but he refuses to eat them, so here I am with my bag full of apricots! I decided not to make jam -mainly because I still have some left from last time he made me buy some, and seeing how much he seems to like oats what better way to combine this two ingredients than a nice sweet crumble? Plus the Eurocup is starting and tomorrow we'll be cheering for Holland so I thought: Apricots, sort of orange= football dessert!!

Ingredients:

• 16 fresh apricots
• 2 tablespoons sugar (once again I used light brown sugar and you can use a bit more if the apricots are not so sweet)
• 125g all purpose flour
• 100g sugar (light brown sugar or half and half)
• 100g rolled oats
• 50g ground almonds (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 175g unsalted butter, at room temperature but not to soft

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Cut the apricots in half, remove the kernels and then in halves again, this way you end up with nice think pieces that will cook and turn into almost jam in the oven. Arrange them in a deep baking dish (you can also use individual baking dishes).
3. In a separate bowl, mix the remaining dry ingredients together, then mix in the butter. The result should resemble coarse crumbs. If it feels a bit dry add a little bit of butter, or more oats/flour if it feels to wet.
4. Sprinkle the crumble over the baking dish and bake in the over for 25-30 minutes or until golden. (and here's the part where I let you in my little secret, after the cruble has beenin the over for at least 15 minutes I add a bit of cold butter on top and let it do its magic! ). 
5. Serve with some whipped cream or ice cream.

Tip: I found that the best way to mix the butter to create the crumble is first a little bit with your hands and then with a wooden spoon, this way you don't over soften the butter and turn it into a dough.