Just a bit about terminology here.... A "Crisp" is a dish made with fruit topped with a crumble. The crumble topping is usually made with some combination of flour, sugar, oats and butter. People often refer to a "Cobbler" when they are actually thinking of a "Crisp". Cobblers have more of a crust. They're a bit more pie-like. They're also yummy, but this post is about making a simple "Crisp".
I'll go through the directions with photos and then put the recipe at the end of the post. This recipe can be adjusted to any amount of fruit and it's GREAT if you are just cooking for just one or two people and don't want to make enough for an army.
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I had two large fresh peaches. You certainly can use canned fruit, but if you have fresh- that's the best way to go. If you used canned fruit, you need to drain it.
I peeled and sliced my peaches. The slices are about 1/2 - 3/4 inches thick.
I've tossed a little sugar and flour and maybe a little spices (Cinnamon, nutmeg, etc) into the fruit. Then set the fruit aside and let it get a little juicy.
Now it's time to make the crumble topping. Combine flour, Oats, and brown sugar and mix them around. I use quick oats but regular oats are fine if that's what you have on hand. Then you take COLD butter and cut it into cubes, and toss into the mixture. Use a pastry cutter, or two knives or your hands to work the butter into the dry ingredients. If you're using your fingers, be careful to work quickly. The warmth of your hands will melt the butter and we don't want that. Just keep working it until the butter looks like little lumps and there aren't any big blops of butter. If it's a warm day and you do this ahead, just put the bowl in the fridge while it's on hold.
I make a double or triple batch of topping and keep it in an air tight container in my freezer. All summer long, as I have some fresh fruit around and want a quick dessert, I just toss the fruit with a little flour and sugar, put it in a dish, get my topping out of the freezer and sprinkle a little on, and I have nice warm fruit crisp in to time.
I suggest that you make a single batch (or even half) the first time you try this to make sure you like it. If you love it, and if you have freezer space, then go ahead and make up a bunch of topping and have it on hand.
Here's my finished Peach Crisp. My two peaches have yielded about 3 servings. Just let it sit for about 15 minutes (if you can wait that long) and enjoy! It's great with vanilla ice cream, too.
Now for the specifics:
For soft fruits such as peaches, pums and soft berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc), you will get lots of juice. For every peach, or about a cup of berries, add about a tablespoon of flour and about a generous tablespoon of sugar. Toss these in the fruit and leave them sit in a bowl, tossing occasionally for about 15 minutes or maybe a little longer. Then pour off the excess juice. You still want the fruit to be wet and juicy but not floating around in the juice. Just pour of the main juice. You want the finished product to be nice and juicy, but not a runny, sloppy mess.
I don't want to complicate this recipe too much, but I generally just add the sugar first, let stand, pour off most of the juice, THEN add my four. But if you add them all at the same time, it's OK.
For peaches, I like to add a little cinnamon and just a touch of nutmeg You could also add ground ginger. GO EASY ON THE SPICES! For a large 8x13" pan of peach crisp, I use about 1/4- 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. For a small one like the one with just two peaches, I just sprinkle a bit of cinnamon in. If you're adding two spices, such as cinnamon AND nutmeg AND ginger, for the large one, I would add 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp of nutmeg, and a pinch of powdered ginger.
For firmer fruits like apples and pears, and also for blueberries because they have a firm skin, you don't get the same quantity of juices. Go a little lighter on the flour (maybe a scant tablespoon of flour per apple or pear). I like just cinnamon with apples but use whatever spices you like. Just remember to go easy on the spices.
Make a note of how much sugar, flour and spices you use with what quantity of fruit. When you taste the finished crisp, if you think it needs a little more of this or a little less of that, NOTE it on the recipe. I can't stress this enough. THIS is what will make you a "real cook". Taste and make notes. Learn to make your own judgements about the fresh food you have to work with and how you want to handle it. It's impossible for a recipe to tell you how to judge the juicy-ness or ripeness of a piece of fruit. Learn to be aware of what you are using and you'll be a pro in no time!
Cooking times:
Preheat your oven to 350 deg while you're preparing the fruit and topping.
Place the crisp in the center of the pre-heated oven and cook for 40-60 minutes, or maybe even a little longer for apples.
A note about apples: All apples are not created equally! Some are great for eating and some are better for cooking. Here's a great chart to help you make your choices. You can find other lists and comparisons of varieties of other fruits such as pears and plums by doing a quick internet search.
And a note about the juice you pour off the juicy ones..... you can just drink this, put it in the fridge and pour it over pancakes in the morning, mix it with other fresh fruit for a fruit salad, or freeze it in an ice cube tray and use it in iced tea, or other drinks.
So here's the actual recipe:.
Peach Crisp
Recipe makes a large crisp- about a 9x13 inch pan. ( Directions for a small crisp are in parentheses )
8 fresh peaches (2 fresh peaches)
toss with 1/2 cup sugar, which is 8 tablespoons (2 tablespoons sugar)
let sit for 15-20 minutes and pour off most of the juice... see note above about juice
toss the fruit with 1/2 cup flour (2 tbsp flour) and pour into baking pan
Topping:
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
Combine dry ingredients then cut in COLD butter which you cut into cubes.
For large crisp, you'll use most or all of this. For the smaller one, you can make the topping with 1/4 cup of everything.
Bake at 350 deg F. for about 35 min. or until the topping is slightly browned. Let cool about 15 minutes and enjoy!
Apple Crisp
Same as above, but I add about 1/2 tsp cinnamon and a little nutmeg (1/8th tsp?) to the fruit and there's rarely any juice to pour off. I love tart apples such as Grannie Smith... not eating apples like Red Delicious or Honeycrisp. You also have to cook apples longer- about 45 min to an hour. If the apples still need a little cooking time and the topping is getting brown, put some aluminum foil over it while it finishes cooking. Check it at about 30 minutes.
