How’s this for a transition dish? The last of summer’s beautiful, mouthwatering pluots, combined with the first of fall’s abundant apples, and topped with a crunchy, sweet oat crisp. Yes, please! This is seasonal food at its best… crisps are a fantastic option for summer and fall desserts because they welcome any fruit filling you can imagine. I think of fruit crisp as the quintessential farmers market dish: just pick the most delectable fruit you can find at your farmers market (or, better yet, at a local orchard – go to www.pickyourown.org to find one near you) and go nuts. Your dinner guests will love it!
Apple Pluot Crisp
Fruit Filling
5 pluots
3 medium apples
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch salt
Crisp topping
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter, cubed
pinch salt
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare fruit: peel and core apples, then chop into medium-large chunks. Bring a pot of water to a boil; score the bottoms of the pluots with “x” marks and drop them in the boiling water. Allow pluots to boil for 30-45 seconds, then remove and place in cold water immediately. Peel pluot skins off (they should come off easily now) and core and chop pluots. Mix apples and pluots together in a medium bowl. Add salt, sugar and cornstarch and toss to coat evenly.
- Combine flour, oats, sugar and salt in a separate bowl; whisk together. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two knives (alternatively, combine dry ingredients in a food processor, then pulse in the butter).
- Spread fruit filling out in 8×8 baking dish. Cover evenly with crisp topping. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until fruit is cooked through and topping is golden brown. Serve with homemade vanilla bean ice cream.
Source: Covered In Flour, inspired by The Barefoot Contessa
What exactly is a pluot? I’ve seen them in the store and haven’t ever bought one…
A pluot is a cross between a plum and an apricot. They have the texture of a plum but are smaller and a little tarter than plums, sweeter than apricots – very delish. They have a pretty short growing season – I’ve only seen them at the grocery store a few times. My farmers market carries them for a longer stretch of time during the summer – I bought these at the farmers market and froze them.