Cherry Crisp

My mom gets all the credit here.

I took the pictures and gave her two thumbs up with a full tummy of this deliciousness.

You can't really go wrong with fresh cherries, a homemade crisp and dinner at mom's house, can you?

This was fantastic (so was the homemade ice-cream she topped it off with!) and was a perfect way to end a warm summer night with family.


Cherry Crispy
By: My mom

Ingredients

6 cups sweet, pitted cherries
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray

Topping:
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup rolled oats (regular)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup sliced almonds

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare filling: Combine cherries, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, almond extract and salt in a large blow, toss gently.  Spoon cherry mixture into an 11 x 7 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Prepare topping: Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, leveling with a knife.  Combine flour, oats, brown sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk (or whatever!).  Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Stir in sliced almonds.  Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over cherry mixture.  Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is crisp.  Let stand 5 minutes, serve warm.

 

{Mom's} Amazing Cranberry Pie

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! I hope you had a joyous time with your family and friends!

Have I told you about my mom?

My mom is Martha². Honest. Hand to heaven. Martha has a team and my mom’s creative genius is all her own. Not only does she bake incredible desserts (desserts that put mine to complete and utter shame) but she cooks the most creative, flavorful and delicious meals. She’s the full package deal and the first place I visit after I walk into her home is the fridge. Oh sweet, wonderful, delicious leftovers. Just to get my hands on anything that she has created. Unfortunately, especially for my darling husband, I didn’t inherit the cooking gene. There are still a few people praying (and take out is a Godsend).

You know what else is awesome about my mom?

Care packages.

They are probably more for her “Oh my, why don’t you feed him something else other than cookies” son-in-law but I happily accept whenever the care packages are offered (and may pack them and pretend to take credit for his lunches).

This Cranberry Pie was something of that form. She was sick and still managed to bring a few desserts to a family dinner. She packed the leftovers up and they got sent home with me. Once home, I snapped a few pictures before eating the en-ti-re c-are pack-age. Oops. It was divine.

I attempted to recreate this dessert using this recipe (which was good) but no where near as great as hers.

I have to start thinking of something good to bribe her with to get the recipe and it’s going to have to be something better than homemade dinner and dessert.

Here’s to amazing moms and a new year! Happy 2011!

PS - I  hope your New Year's resolutions work out better than mine did last year! :-)

Updated with Mom's recipe. Thanks, Mom!

Ingredients

3 cups fresh/frozen cranberries
3/4 cup pecans (toasted and chopped)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar divided
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp orange flavoured liqueur
2 tsp grated orange zest
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 ­ 3/4 c melted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and lightly flour a 10 inch pie plate.

Place cranberries in pie plate and sprinkle with pecans and 1/2 cup of the sugar.

In a bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar, flour, eggs, butter ,liqueur, orange zest and baking powder until smooth. Pour over cranberries.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until top is golden and a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool slightly on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 8.

Apple Cranberry Cobbler

Cranberries and apples are a welcome addition in my kitchen anytime so I'm not one to complain about the abundance of them at this time of the year. The sweetness of the apples paired with the tartness of the cranberries is a wonderful combination and the baking possibilities are endless. For this cobbler, rather than opting for my usual favorite crumb topping I made the biscuit topping and it certainly did not disappoint.

This was delicious, with all the the festive spices, and tasted best served warm out of the oven and topped with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!


Apple Cranberry Cobbler
Adapted from: Sugar Plum

Ingredients

6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground clove

3 cups cranberries
1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 ounces cold reduced fat cream cheese, cut into chunks
2 large eggs
2/3 cup milk

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F. Butter bottom and sides of a 13x9-inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, stir together apples, 1/2 cup sugar, and spices until well combined; set aside.

Stir together cranberries and 1/3 cup sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat; cook 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until cranberries start to break down and get juicy.

Pour apple mixture and cranberry mixture into baking dish and stir until combined.

To make the biscuit topping, in a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Knead in butter and cream cheese using fingertips or a pastry blender until well incorporated and mixture starts to clump together. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk until well combined; add wet ingredient to dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.

Drop spoonfuls of biscuit topping evenly over fruit. Bake 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Nectarine and Strawberry Crisp

I hope you’re enjoying your summer! We’ve been enjoying some ridiculous amounts of glorious sunshine here in Vancouver so we’ve been busy BBQing, beaching and picnicking! With all of the delicious fruit in season, I’m trying my best to put a healthy twist on summer… thus, I give you the fruit crisp.

I love crisps of any kind. Apple in the fall, strawberry rhubarb in the spring, and any combo of fresh fruit in the summer. They're quick and easy to put together. The hardest part of making a crisp is waiting for it to come out of the oven!

This is a basic crisp recipe. You can use any combination of fruit that you'd like or have on hand. I used nectarines and strawberries and paired it with an addictive crumb topping. Naturally, it was absolutely delicious and with all that fruit, dare I say, it is verging on healthy.

Serve warm and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.


Nectarine and Strawberry Fruit Crisp
Adapted from: Food Woolf

Ingredients

½ cup pecans
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
a pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 ripe nectarines, pitted and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup strawberries
¼ cup sugar
3 tablespoons unbleached flour
zest of one lemon, chopped fine

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° F.

For the Topping
Chop the pecans to a medium to fine consistency. Combine the flour, the sugars, the salt and spice in a mixing bowl. Add the chilled butter in pieces and mix with your fingers until it becomes mealy. Add the nuts and mix until the flour mixture holds together when squeezed. Put aside.

For the Crisp
Mix the fruit in a medium-sized bowl and then add the sugar. Taste and adjust for sweetness (don’t over sugar the fruit). Dust the flour over the mixture and stir gently. Spoon the topping into a small cooking dish that is just big enough to hold the fruit. Mound a small amount in the center of the dish. Then, gently add the crisp mixture on top. Lightly push the crumble on top of the fruit mixture.

Place a cookie sheet on the middle rack of the oven (to catch any overflow juices) and put the crisp dish on top. Bake in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and the fruit juices are thickened and bubbling. The delicious smell of baked fruit will help you know when it’s close to being ready. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!