Cooking

When the Tiny Kitchen Assistant was just 20 months old, we took him to Brentwood to pick cherries. I have no idea why I thought that would be a good idea, but somehow it worked. Even at that young age, he loved the fact that we could come home with pounds upon pounds of cherries for his enjoyment.

We’ve gone every Memorial Day for three years, and each year I’ve made this recipe for cherry crisp. It’s delicious, but a little bit on the sweet side; the 2008 version actually caused a pregnant friend to fail her glucose tolerance test the next day. Whoops! You may want to bring your own insulin.

As a word of advice, don’t even bother to attempt this with just a knife. I use a cherry pitter, and even with that handy tool, it’s still a labor-intensive effort.

Ingredients for Filling

• 6  cups  (about 2 pounds) sweet cherries, pitted
• 1/3  cup  granulated sugar
• 1/4  cup  cornstarch
• 1  Tbsp  fresh lemon juice
• 1/4  tsp  almond extract
• 1/8  tsp  salt
• Cooking spray

Ingredients for Topping

• 1/2  cup  all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
• 1/2  cup  old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2  cup  packed light brown sugar
• 1/8  tsp  salt
• 6  Tbsp  chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3  cup  sliced almonds

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°. Coat an 11 x 7 baking dish with cooking spray.

For filling, combine cherries, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, juice, almond extract and salt in a large bowl and gently toss to coat. Spoon cherry mixture into the baking dish.

For topping, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in sliced almonds. Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over cherry mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is crisp. Let stand 5 minutes before serving, preferably warm and with ice cream.

Results

This recipe is an annual favorite, and has been shared with three other households, each just as enthusiastic as the next. Kids love it. Adults love it. And since it’s really just a once-a-year dessert, I don’t have to feel too terribly guilty about gorging myself on it when the season comes.

Tags: almonds, cherries, dessert, ice cream, nuts, oven

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