One of my favourite desserts is Apple Crisp! I could probably eat it daily and never get tired of it. It's the perfect sweet/tart combo that I love. Crisps are so easy to make, you can easily cook one for a mid-week dessert or if you have friends drop by unexpectedly for dinner (as we're practicing #stayhome at the moment, this is probably not likely, but I hope it will be one day soon). I like to think that crisps are a "healthier" version of dessert as they are mainly fruit and oats. This way I don't have any guilt when I reach for a second helping!
A Crisp, or a Crumble as some call it, is simply a cooked dessert with fruit on the bottom and a crispy, crumbly butter/sugar topping.
As part of my #pantrymealseries, Berry & Apple Crisp is tops for dessert choices. Most of the ingredients can be found in either your pantry, fridge or freezer. I decided to make this a combination crisp with both berries and apples, as I have a few more bags of last summer's frozen berries to eat up. Frozen berries work well in a crisp if you let them thaw first, then strain out the juices (reserve the liquid for smoothies, or mix a tablespoon or two into club soda). Fresh berries could also work in this recipe.
I thought I had oats in the pantry and only realized last minute that I had steel cut oats, not rolled oats. Steel cut oats are less processed, so they are a different shape than oats that have been flattened (rolled) and processed. Steel cut oats take longer to cook and ultimately have a firmer bite than other types of oats. Not a problem - the crust had a crunchier texture which worked perfectly with the softness of the fruit underneath! Moral here, use whatever oats you have, keeping in mind that instant will cook very quickly and could become mooshy if baked too long.
I hope you enjoy one of my favourite desserts!
Take care,
Krista
Berry & Apple Crisp adapted from here
Ingredients
1-2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces/chunks or sliced if you prefer* (see note below)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups frozen berries, thawed & drained (the thawed berries - I used raspberries and strawberries - will reduce to about 2 cups)
1 cup fresh berries (I cut large strawberries into quarters and kept raspberries whole)*(see note below)
For The Crisp Topping
1 cups cooking oats (use what you have)
1 cup brown sugar (I used demerara)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ginger, freshly grated* (optional)
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup or 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Cream, Whip Cream or Vanilla Ice Cream, to serve
Method
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl add lemon juice, apples, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir. Pour into an 8"X 8" greased or sprayed baking dish. Add berries (thawed and fresh) on top.
In a medium bowl make the crisp topping. Combine oats, brown sugar, flour, ginger, salt, and cinnamon. Using your hands, or a pastry cutter, mix until topping until it is crumbly with pea sized or slightly bigger chunks remaining.
Pour the crisp topping over the fruit, spreading evenly. Bake for 40-45 minutes for steel cut oats, or until topping is golden and the fruit is bubbling. If using steel cut oats, test to ensure oats are chewy.If using rolled or cooking oats test for doneness after 30-35 minutes.
Let crumble cool for 30 minutes. Serve with cream (I used 2% milk, as that's what I had), whip cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
*The addition or combination of fresh berries is optional. If you have them, they add a nicely varied texture to the hard apples and soft thawed berries, if you don't then add another apple!
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