Continuing the series on desserts that use luscious blueberries and other fruits at their peak (see the Blueberry Buckle recipe), this post features my all-time favorite fruit dessert, the Crisp. What makes a crisp a crisp, and not a buckle, crumble, cobbler, or slump? you may be asking. Crisps have exceedingly wonderful crunchy, sugary tops over a slightly thickened cooked-fruit base. Fruit and topping are perfect together — different from one another, yet complimentary.
This recipe is adapted from June’s Apple Crisp in the Silver Palate Good Times cookbook. As you’ll see, crisps can be made with berries, apples, apricots, peaches, or any fruit that’s tasty and in season.
Triple Berry Crisp
Serves 6
Approx. 2 C fresh berries or other fruit, washed (and peeled in the case of apples)
1.5 T fresh lemon juice
1 c flour
1 c sugar
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter cold, cut into pieces
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8″ cake pan.
2. Place a layer of berries in the pan and sprinkle with lemon juice. Repeat layers until all berries are in the pan. Lightly press on the berries to even them.
3. Process the flour, sugar, cinnamon, & salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade just to combine. Add the butter and process, using repeated pulses, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
4. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the berries, making sure the edges are well sealed.
5. Bake until the top is golden and the fruit is tender, about 1 hour. Fruit and juice may leak into the topping – this is fine.
The crisp is equally terrific made with peaches or apricots.
Why choose?
Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman
You might also like: Bake an Old Fashioned Blueberry Buckle
