A Scoop of Summer Scrumptiousness
This dish is one of my all-time favorite things on earth. I love to serve it as a fresh yet comforting dessert, and also love to dive into it as a cold breakfast the next day. My bestie requests this for her birthday “cake” every year, and when Brad has poker night with the guys I tend to make four or five desserts but this one is usually the first to disappear. There’s just something about it… it’s not too sweet and not too tart, the crunchy oatmeal topping contrasts so nicely with the juicy filling, and where the two layers meet the oatmeal softens ever so gently, giving you the best of all textural worlds.
Could you use peaches in this recipe? Certainly. I love peaches too – I love the word “peach,” I love the look of a peach, and I love the taste of a peach. BUT I pretty much only buy nectarines because that fuzzy peach skin? Not my favorite. And if I don’t have to peel a fruit before I eat it, I’d probably rather not go to all the trouble. If you prefer to peel peaches, you do your thang and all the power to you.
A Few Tips About This Dish
- If you’re planning to make this for a particular occasion, you may want to get your nectarines a few days early so they’re sure to be ripe, as they’re often still firm (or sometimes rock hard) when you buy them in the store. You can still use *slightly* under-ripe fruit, but if you do, I would add a little extra sugar (maybe a tablespoon or two) to compensate so it’s not too tart. To ripen nectarines, place them in a closed paper bag at room temperature (they should ripen in 2-3 days). If you buy them ahead of time and (surprise!) they’re ripe already in the store, keep them in the refrigerator to prevent them from ripening too much more.
- If you don’t consider yourself a baker and are intimidated by how to incorporate the butter into the crumble, you can watch my tutorial on Instagram here – it’s SO easy to do!
- I suggest baking this while you’re preparing dinner and taking it out just before you eat. It does benefit from sitting out a bit as the juices will thicken as they cool down. If that’s not an option, I’d recommend baking ahead of time and reheating it a bit, rather than baking during dinner and serving it piping hot right out of the oven.
- Wonderful as it is on its own, a scoop of vanilla ice cream (or vegan “nice cream”) really adds another delightful layer to this crisp. The warm and cold together is lovely, the creamy and crispy is a delight, and the vanilla bean is a fantastic complement to these incredible fruity flavors.
- You can make this in a 9×13 pan like this one (I like it because it has a lid you can pop on when you put leftovers in the fridge) or, as I often do (and as is shown in the photos) you can make it divided among four small pie plates (approximately two servings per mini pie plate, though I often finish a whole one by myself). When I make it in these smaller vessels, the liquid filling typically bubbles over and down the sides of the dishes. Just a word of warning: you may want to put a cookie sheet underneath so you’re not stuck cleaning the oven after baking.
Trying to Eat Healthy?
As it is, this dish is already healthier than a lot of desserts, simply because it has a high ratio of fruit. But even so, I have been experimenting with making desserts with less fat, sugar and calories overall, so I want to offer some modifications that can result in an even healthier option. I have made this on many occasions in BOTH variations and love them endlessly. I hope you will too.
If you’re looking to reduce fat, sugar and calories make these small changes:
*Use 4 tbsp of butter or vegan butter instead of 6 in the topping.
*Use Swerve Brown Sugar (calorie-free) in place of the regular brown sugar in the topping.
*Reduce sugar in the fruit mix to 1/4 cup.
*Remove nuts (optional).
NOTE: Because this version has less fat in the topping, it can be at a higher risk of browning faster, depending on your oven. Check on it around the 30-minute mark and if it’s getting dark too quickly, place a piece of tinfoil over the top to prevent it from getting too dark.
Strawberry Nectarine Crisp
Ingredients
Fruit Filling
- 4-5 medium to large nectarines
- 16-20 oz strawberries
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Crisp Topping
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp cold unsalted butter or vegan butter
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2. Cut your nectarines into approximately 1" pieces, and your strawberries into halves or quarters.
- 3. In a large bowl, combine the cut fruit with the sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch. If your nectarines are super juicy, you may want to add an extra teaspoon of cornstarch.
- 4. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt.
- 5. Cut the butter into small cubes and using your fingertips, combine it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the walnuts or pecans, if using. If you are not baking immediately, place topping back into the fridge to keep the butter cool until you're ready to use it.
- 6. Spread your fruit mixture into a glass or ceramic 13x9 pan* and evenly sprinkle your topping over.
- 7. Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until the topping is golden and fruit is bubbling.
- 8. Let the crisp cool for 30 minutes or more so the juices can thicken as they cool.
- 9. Serve the crisp warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice (or vegan "nice") cream.
Notes
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