Stone Fruit Crisp – Peaches & Plums…
This is quite the best time of the year to get inspired by summer fruits in food. This summer is special for me. The blogosphere is constantly churning out eye-catching & delicious fruity delights a dime a dollar!! It’s difficult to catch up & make each of them, but I’m getting on slowly & steadily… a real feast for the eyes. Here’s a stone-fruit crisp I made inspired largely by this ‘Triple Berry Rhubarb Crisp‘ posted by Susan’s @ Food Blogga. A single type of berry is hard enough to come by here where we live, so ‘triple berry’ could only exist in my dreams. I decided to go ahead & use what I had on hand…using this recipe for a ‘Plum & Peach Crisp’ from 101cookbooks.
Peaches, plums, cherries and apricots are a few of summer’s sweetest treasures. Few culinary pleasures compare with biting into a ripe sweet peach bursting with juice or enjoying a sugary sweet plum at the peak of its season. Most of the luscious fruits of summer are known as stone fruits because of the stone-like pit at the core of the fruit. When fully ripe and at the peak of their season, there’s no better way to enjoy stone fruits than simply eating them just as they are – fresh, sweet and full of juice. However, the exquisite flavors of ripe stone fruits lend themselves to many creative uses, be it fruit salads, cobblers or compotes.
Early settlers of America were very good at improvising. When they first arrived, they bought their favorite recipes with them, such as English steamed puddings). Not finding their favorite ingredients, they used whatever was available. That’s how all these traditional American dishes came about with such unusual names. Early colonist were so fond of these juicy dishes that they often served them as the main course, for breakfast, or even as a first course. It was not until the late 19th century that they became primarily desserts.
Recipe for Peach & Plum Crisp as adapted from 101cookbookCrisp:
Brown sugar – 1/2 cup
Flour – 1/4 cup
Rolled oats – 1/2 cup
Almonds – 1/4 cup chopped
Ground cinnamon – 1 teaspoon
Ground ginger – 1/4 teaspoon
Butter – 4 tablespoons / melted 
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To make the topping combine the oats, flour, sugar, ginger, almonds and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Stir in the butter & mix until everything comes together in a dough-like texture. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the plum and peach mixture.
Filling:
Chopped peaches -2 cups ; chopped (about 3-4 large peaches)
Plums – 12-14; pitted & chopped
Granulated sugar – 1/4 cup
Light brown sugar – 1/4 cup
Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp
Ginger powder – 1/2 tsp
Cornstarch – 2 tablespoons
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Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
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Cut the peaches and plums into bite-sized, 1-inch pieces. Gently simmer for 2-3 minutes with the ginger & cinnamon. Don’t overcook; the fruit should retain it’s shape.
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In a separate small bowl whisk together the cup sugar and the arrowroot. Sprinkle over the fruit, toss gently (but well). Allow to cool slightly.
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Put the fruit into an 8″ baking dish. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the plum and peach mixture.
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Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the topping is golden & the fruit starts bubbling over the edges.
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Best served warm or at room temperature… even better with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
Enjoy summer at it’s best…
