Fruit Crisp

by Brenda Langton, Tastemaker in Residence

There are many possible fruit combinations, so feel free to experiment and use whatever is in season. Think about apple and rhubarb, pear and cranberry, and peach and cherry. In winter, when local fresh fruit is not available, try plumped dried apricots. // serves 6 to 8

photo from Spoonriver Cookbook

Ingredients

1⁄2 cup chopped nuts

3⁄4 cup rolled oats

3⁄4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour or a mixture of all-purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour 

1⁄3 cup packed brown sugar

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

1⁄2 cup butter or vegetable oil

6 cups fruit

Flour, cornstarch, or another thickener 

2⁄3 cup fruit juice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the nuts, oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg (if using) in a bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces, and work it in with a pastry blender or with your fingertips just until the mixture comes together and has a crumbly texture. If you are using oil instead of butter, simply stir well to combine. You can make this crisp top- ping in advance and store it in the refrigerator. Place it on the fruit just before putting it in the oven.

Prepare the fruit. Apples and pears can be peeled (or not), cored, and cut into slices or chunks. Stone fruits should be pitted and cut into bite-sized pieces. Peaches should be peeled. Taste the fruit as you are preparing it. If the fruit is sweet, you may not need to add any sugar. If you are adding rhubarb or using tart pie cherries, you will certainly need to add some sugar; however, apples, peaches, and apricots may not need any.

If you are using juicy fruits, you will need a little flour or cornstarch to thicken the juices. Apples are generally fine without any thickener, while peaches and cherries will require 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour or cornstarch. If you need to use a thickener, stir it into the juice.

Spread the prepared fruit in a 9 × 9-inch pan (or any baking dish that will hold 6 cups of fruit), pour the juice over the fruit, and place the crisp topping on top.

Bake the crisp for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the crisp topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling up the sides of the pan.

Variations

You can make almost any fruit into a crisp. Here are some ideas:

apple and cranberry

apple and pear

apple and rhubarb

peach

cherry, either sweet or tart

apricot and dried cherry

peaches or apricots and fresh raspberries