Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

I am loving the farmer's markets in the area lately -- especially when I stumbled upon some delicious rhubarb!  I've never cooked with rhubarb before but I'm loving the combination of strawberries and rhubarb -- it's classic! Not only is this recipe super easy but it's a perfect impressive dish that is tart, sweet and the crunchy topping is wonderful.  All you need is a scoop of ice cream and you have yourself an amazing summer dessert!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
from The Kitchen Sink


2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and diced (plus more for greasing)
4 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and cut in 1/2-inch slices
3 cups strawberries, trimmed and quartered
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons Grand Marnier (or lemon or orange juice)
1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest

Preheat the oven to 375°.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch of kosher salt.  Cut in the 6 tablespoons chilled, diced butter using a pastry blender (or, if you don’t have one, rub the butter in with your fingers).  Place the mixture in the refrigerator.

Generously butter either four gratin dishes or one 9×9-inch pan.  Set aside.

In another medium bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, Grand Marnier, zest, remaining 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch of kosher salt.  Spoon the mixture into the buttered dish or dishes.   Blanket the strawberry-rhubarb mixture with the chilled topping.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Cran-Apple Crisp

So today the weather in South Carolina has gone back into the 80s....ugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So in order to throughly enjoy this Cran-Apple Crisp, I had to crank the AC, put on some sweats and pretend it was cool outside.  It worked....and this crisp is amazing!  I love a piping hot scoop of plain old apple crisp, but chuck in some dried cranberries, walnuts and orange zest and POW -- flavor explosion to the face.  No need to pile on the ice cream or whipped cream here, this baby is good all on it’s own!

I chose to use a combination of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples in the recipe.  I really had to force myself to cut up the Honeycrisp and throw them in, {they are the most heavenly apples for eating} but they really were perfect and stood up to the heat of the oven.  Feel free to use any apples you wish/have on hand.  

Cran-Apple Crisp

8 c. thinly sliced peeled tart apples

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. dried cranberries

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

1/4 c. flour

1 1/2 - 2 tsp grated orange peel

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/3 c. whole wheat flour

1/3 c. nonfat dry milk powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 - 1/2 tsp cloves

5 tbsp cold butter, cubed

1/3 c. quick cooking oats

1. Combine first 6 ingredients, toss to coat.  Transfer to a 13 x 9 in baking dish coated with cooking spray.
2. Combine brown sugar, whole wheat flour, milk powder, cinnamon and cloves.  Cut butter into mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in oats and sprinkle over apples.
3. Bake uncovered at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden.  

And check out a different presentation idea -- MiniChow Cran-Apple Crisp!!!!!!  For those who want "just a little bit".  Cute!!!!

Peach and Plum Crumble

As I’ve mentioned numerous times on the blog... I’m not a baking expert.  I probably need to suck it up and take a couple of baking classes in order to hone my skills a little bit.  However, there are some baked goods that are difficult to mess up -- and those are my go-to desserts.  These include fruit crumbles, crisps and rustic tarts with store bought pie crust.  

I love a good fruit crumble -- warm seasonal fruit with a crunchy buttery topping -- add a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and I’m in heaven.  This crumble is a spin off of a recipe I found on Pinterest -- I loved the idea of pairing peaches and plums but I wasn’t crazy about the topping on the original recipe.  It was very simple with basic ingredients of butter, brown sugar and flour -- I decided to add some texture by taking out some of the flour and adding in instant oatmeal and sliced almonds.  I loved the crunch of the almonds along with the fruit.  Delish!  

Peach and Plum Crumble 

adapted from What About Second Breakfast

1 1/2 pounds peaches, cut into 1/2 inch wedges

1/2 pound plums, cut into 1/2 inch wedges

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

4 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp coarse salt

12 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1 c. all purpose flour

1 c. instant oatmeal

1/3 c. sliced almonds

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Stir together peach and plum slices, granulated sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and salt then pour into an 8-inch square baking dish or a 10-inch pie plate.
2. Beat butter and brown sugar until combined, then add flour, oatmeal and almonds.  Gather handfuls of the mixture and squeeze, then gently break up the clump with your fingers and scatter over the filling.  You will have big and small pieces.
3. Bake 30 minutes, then cover loosely with foil.  Bake 20 more minutes until the filling is bubbling.  Cool 2 minutes before serving.