My All-Time Favorite Easy Dessert Recipe: Fruit Crisp

Oh, fruit crisp! You are my favorite. I am a great, great lover of pie. But rarely do I truly want to make pie. Making pie is a whole thing. You have to plan ahead. You try to follow all the tricks to make a delicious flaky crust, but still it's only mediocre at best. But crisp? Crisp satisfies that same hunger pang that pie does, only you can make it and bake it in under an hour, and it's pretty hard to mess up. What do you have to lose??? Sometimes, when an hour feels like too long to wait (you have those days too, right?), I'll even just cook it on the stovetop and have dessert in 20 min!

crisp topping

yield: covers a 9"x 9" pan

double recipe for a 9" x 18" pan!

1½ c. rolled oats

½ c. whole wheat flour

¼ c. butter

1 egg

¼ c. brown sugar or 2 T. maple syrup

(the egg is my special, secret ingredient that you probably won't see in other crisp recipes!)

Combine all ingredients and lay over a 9" x 9" pan filled with fresh or frozen fruit (extra-watery fruits like strawberries you may want to toss with a tablespoon of arrowroot powder or cornstarch, to prevent a fruit soup situation.) Bake at 400°F for 30min, or until fruit is bubbling and the top is golden brown.

* For my extra-fast stovetop version, melt the butter in a saucepan, then add oats and sugar and sauté until golden. Leave out the flour and egg for this one. Meanwhile in a separate saucepan, simmer fruit until soft. Spoon fruit into serving bowls and top with oats. Enjoy immediately!