Until I started making this recipe several years back, I'd never realized how much people (myself included) like fruit crisp. Of any kind. Seriously, take any fruit, some sugar or other sweetener, and some crunchy, carby topping, and bake in the oven. It's always a crowd-pleaser, especially when the nights turn slightly chilly and you can feel autumn in the air.
I call this recipe the Three-Quarter Fruit Crisp because it uses three-quarter measurements of most of the ingredients, and calling it that helps me remember how to make it. I adapted this from a recipe I found years ago in a magazine that was maybe called Organic Style, but I don't think it's in print anymore. You can use any fruit that you like — some recommended combos on the old recipe card are apple and cranberry, pear and quince, and peach and blueberry.
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I used blackberries, which we went out and picked as a family outing. I'm not sure if the kids look forward to doing this every year, but they don't grumble too much and they both love the end result — return on their investment, as it were. Besides the hard-won blackberries, I threw in a cup of peaches, which were about to turn mushy on our kitchen counter. I've also made this with just apples, which I cooked in a pan for about 10 minutes beforehand for a sweeter, mushier, but still delicious experience.
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Three-Quarter Fruit Crisp
Ingredients
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 stick of cold butter (6T)
4 cups chopped fruit I almost always use 3 cups of one kind of fruit and 1 cup of a second kind — 3/4, get it?
Fresh lemon juice for sprinkling on the fresh fruit
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Directions
Step 1: Wash and chop up 4 cups of any fruit that you like. You can even use frozen fruit (no need to thaw it out). Sprinkle the fruit with lemon juice and then put the fruit into a medium-sized casserole dish or several smaller, individual baking dishes.
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Step 2: Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into bits and add it to the flour mixture. Work the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers or a fork until you get a crumbly consistency.
Step 3: Sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit. Bake at 375° (300 + 3/4 of a hundred, are you with me?) for a little less than an hour. I'd love to tell you to bake it for three-quarters of an hour, but mine usually takes more like 50-55 minutes.
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Step 4: The crisp is done when the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Serve warm, either plain, with whipped cream, or with ice cream. Expect more than three-quarters of your revelers to ask for seconds, thirds, or fourths even!
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Add me to the list of fruit crisp lovers. I still remember when my friend taught me how to make one in high school .... I was swooning. YUM! And seeing you pick fresh berries for them makes it sound even yummier. (sigh ... all I've ever done is the "dump" version with canned pie filling) This has got me drooling!
And I love the plate, too! :)
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