A crisp is so easy and delicious to make and it really can be made all year long! Almost any fruit that you have on hand can be used to make a crisp. If you are suddenly overrun with fruit or realize that the fruit in your fruit basket is looking a little bruised and battered, now is the perfect time to make this dessert.
This week, my fruit bowl had way too many peaches – peaches are definitely in abundance down here at the moment. My friend also brought over some fresh-picked blackberries and I can eat one or two blackberries with a smile on my face but I really am not a huge fan – however, I absolutely love blackberries cooked! Tossing together my extra peaches and blackberries was the perfect combination for this summer dessert.
Combine the following ingredients in a large bowl:
4 cups peaches – peeled and sliced
2 cups blackberries
juice from 1/2 of a lemon
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
Combine the following “crisp” ingredients in a separate bowl:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten free flour mix works well)
2/3 cup oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
Cinnamon and nutmeg (about 1 teaspoon each)
6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
A pastry blender is a very useful tool for combining the “crisp” ingredients. A pastry blender is also useful for making pie crust dough, guacamole, and mashed potatoes. I promise that if you buy this tool, you will use it! Use the pastry blender (shown above) to cut the butter into the sugar, flour and oats. Use a butter knife to scrape the dough off the pastry blender. You can also use your fingers to combine these ingredients – or, better yet, this is the perfect task for little children helpers.
Put your fruit into a 9 x 9 pan or a deep dish pie pan. The cornstarch will help the juices of the blackberries and peaches turn syrupy while the crisp cooks in the oven. Delicious. Sprinkle the crisp topping over the fruit – cover relatively evenly. Cook for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
The ingredients in this recipe are very flexible – I only wanted to dirty one measuring cup so I decided that my ingredients would either be 1/3 cup or 2/3 of a cup – however, you can add more oats or brown sugar or even butter depending on your taste and how much fruit you have to cover. You really cannot mess up a fruit crisp! Serve it with vanilla ice cream.
