Recipe Background
Cherry Crisp combines sweet cherries with a buttery oat topping.
Cherry Crisp brings a harmony of flavors and textures that sing with every spoonful. The sweet cherries, nestled beneath a golden, oat-laden topping, create an aroma that fills the kitchen with notes of almond and cinnamon. Visually, it’s a striking contrast—deep red bubbling beneath warm shades of toasted oats and almonds. A hint of lemon juice sharpens the cherries, making every bite bright and memorable.
The crucial moment in preparing Cherry Crisp is achieving that perfect topping. Cutting cold butter into the oat mixture lends the crust its coveted crumbly texture. This step is key to balancing a rich butteriness with a light, crisp mouthfeel. You’ll know it’s ready when it bakes to a golden brown, each piece of topping holding its form yet tender to the bite.
Serving this dessert is a joy in itself. Once dish is out of the oven, a short rest allows the juices to settle, making the cherry mixture luscious but not soupy. Pair it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which melts slowly over the warm crisp, mingling creaminess with the chewy oats and juicy cherries. This is a dish best shared, though you may be tempted to keep it all to yourself.
Ingredients
For the crisp:
- 1/2 cup almonds sliced
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup honey
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter cold and diced
For the filling:
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 6 cups fresh pitted sweet cherries or thawed frozen cherries
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- vanilla ice cream to taste, for serving
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Butter a 10-inch cast-iron skillet.
- In a medium bowl, combine the almonds, the oats, the flour, the brown sugar, the salt, and the cinnamon.
- Stir the honey into the oat mixture.
- Cut the butter into the oat mixture with a pastry blender or a fork.
- Place the crisp mixture in the refrigerator until the filling is ready.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar and the cornstarch.
- Stir the cherries, the almond extract, and the lemon juice into the sugar mixture until the cherries are well-coated.
- Evenly pour the cherry filling into the prepared skillet and top with the crisp mixture.
- Bake the cherry crisp until the edges are bubbly and the topping is golden brown, about 35-40 minutes.
- Let the cherry crisp rest for 15 minutes.
- Serve the cherry crisp with the ice cream.
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