Got a call from my mom the other day…it was time to pick apricots off of the tree in my mom’s backyard. I get excited and dread it at the same time…fresh picked apricots are the best – since they are so delicate and easy to bruise you rarely find tree ripen apricots in the stores. The dread comes when I look up at the tree and realize I’m not quite so nibble and brave anymore…climbing up a tree that might not necessarily support my weight, twigs scratching out my eyes, the possiblity of spiders, or worse yet broken bones. I voice my apprehension hoping my mom, as she so often did when we were kids, worried for my well being and let me off the hook. But, my mom replies, “Oh, just use the ladder and climb up there – we can’t let those apricots go to waste.” Now I picture myself precariously perched atop a rickety ladder at the top of a slope on uneven ground – the ladder rocking back and forth. I’m flying through the air, apricots landing everywhere…my mom yelling, “Watch out, don’t fall on the apricots. Oh, now look you’ve mashed all those nice ripe apricots…how clumsy of you!”
As I snap back to the task at hand…Ok, I say sheepishly. Luckily my sister was there to help. She climbs up first to get the ones she can reach and then I hop up to get the rest. Phew, I survived another year. And it was worth it – there just isn’t anything like a well earned bowl of tree ripen apricots.
I guess this year we were a bit rougher than usual plucking the fruit off the tree…guess I was feeling the stress of being on top of that wobbly ladder…many of the apricots had thumb sized bruises. No matter – perfect for an Apricot Crisp…
Here’s my favorite Crisp Topping Recipe:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup old fashion oats
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup almond meal (I get this at Trader Joe’s)
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or more if you’re feeling spicy
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces butter, unsalted (slightly chilled)
Mix the dry ingredients together then cut in the butter. The mix should be dry and crumbly but also able to form nice pea and almond size pieces when you squeeze the mixture together in your fist. Sometimes I add in a little bit more flour if the topping is too moist – I try to get it as dry as possible so the topping stays crisp after it has baked with the fruit under it. It’s important though that the mix is still able to form those pea and almond size ‘chunks.’ The topping should be randomly and haphazardly ‘chunky.’ The topping freezes really well too so sometimes I make a big batch and have it ready to go when I want a quick dessert. This recipe makes enough to top 2 – 9×9 crisps.
For the fruit – you can use apples, cherries, peaches, apricots, plums or combinations like apples and cherries; peaches and blueberries; or toss in some dried fruit with the fresh stuff like cranberries or raisins…be creative, most fruit would be great in a crisp. I mix about 4 or 5 cups of cut up fruit with a 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (depends on how sweet the fruit is to begin with) and about 2 tablespoons of minute tapioca. For apples, I’ll mix in some cinnamon too. Put this into a 9? x 9? baking dish. Scatter the crisp topping over the fruit and bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes or until the fruit is soft and bubbly.
Yum Yum. Had to make a vanilla ice cream run this evening…the perfect side for the warm apricot crisp.
