Precipizi, an Italian Hanukkah Treat, Rigatoni with Braised Chicken in Saffron Cream, and Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies—Secret Recipe Club

Precipizi, an Italian Hanukkah Treat

Seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve had an assignment for the Secret Recipe Club.  Guess that might be because we all took December off.  But we’re back!  How were your holidays?  Getting right back into the swing of things and here we go with another secret revealed.  With the blog I was given for this month, I simply could not decide what to make, so I decided on three recipe to choose from.  After making each over the last couple weeks, I still couldn’t decide which to share, so today you’re getting three, three for the price of one! 

The blog I had this month is Katherine’s blog, appropriately named Katherine Martinelli.  Read Katherine’s About Me Page to learn about her wonderful life of travel and food writing as well as photography.  I love that she says she’s a wanderer.  I’d say so, a native New Yorker, she currently lives in Israel!  (I’m jealous.  Just kidding.  I love my life.) ;)  Her writing is published all over the world!  Like I said, I had quite the time deciding what recipe to make from her blog.   You may have noticed, I tend to gravitate toward treats and goodies.  After looking through so many of Katherine’s posts, I found a cookie I wanted to make, a delicious braised chicken with pasta and these precipizi.  It was fun to make all three.  Originally, I thought I’d try each and pick one, but they were all three so good I decided to share them all here.

What is precipizi?  It’s an Italian Hanukkah dessert, perfect for the holiday as a centerpiece or addition to a table full of desserts.  I think they are delicious.  My family wasn’t too thrilled about how chewy they become after the honey hardens a little on them.  They are perfectly bite-sized and the flavor is great.  Of course, I needed to change the recipe a bit, since it called for rum or other clear spirits and we don’t have any alcohol in our house and don’t use it.   So this is my “virgin” version.  I used vanilla extract and some orange extract.

Precipizi, an Italian Hanukkah Treat, adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys! from Katherine Martinelli

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1  3/4 cup (210 grams) all purpose flour

2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

pinch of salt

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure orange extract

a splash or two of water if the dough is too dry (I didn’t use any, but probably could have)*

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup honey

powdered sugar (optional)

Mix together the flour, sugar, a salt in a medium-sized bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and flavorings.  Combine the two and mix together until combined, then lightly knead it on a flat surface until it is a smooth, soft dough.  Shape the dough in to small balls, about the size of olives (making about 24 balls).  Heat the canola oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add the balls of dough (in batches with the pan not too crowded) and fry until golden on all sides.  Transfer to a paper towel lined wire rack. 

Remove any excess oil from the pan and wipe it clean.  Add the honey.  Once it is hot and bubbling, add the fried dough balls back into the pan and stir to coat.  Pour them onto a baking sheet lined with non-stick foil and allow to cool.   As they cool the honey will harden slightly.  Serve by arranging them into a tower, stacking them on top of each other in a pyramid shape.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

*The original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of rum, and I didn’t use a total of two tablesoons of liquid/flavoring, so a little water could be added to form the dough.

The recipe said to fry them with the heat on high, which I felt was a little too much, so use discretion anywhere from medium to high.  The oil is shallow, so they fry quickly on each side.

 Rigatoni with Braised Chicken in Saffron Cream

Next—I love braising meat, which just means browning it off, then cooking it in liquid until it’s very tender.  I love pasta, too and then was excited that this chicken pasta recipe had saffron in it and I had just the right amount left that a friend gave me a few years ago for my birthday.  Not sure when I’ll ever be able to afford saffron again.  It was fun to use in different things.  This pasta was delicious.  The boys all actually liked it.  Kevin really liked it and I did, too.  Once again, this recipe called for dry white wine, so I substituted some non-alcoholic sparkling cider that we had for the wine.  May be a lame substitution to some, but I have used fruit juices instead of wine before and it tastes good to us!  This didn’t make the dish taste apple-y, but I would like to try a white grape juice next time.  I’ll for sure make this again sometime….when I can get my hands on some saffron.   Besides the wine substitution, since I don’t like onions and this was supposed to have two cups of chopped onions, I was bold enough to put in one large shallot—and that was plenty for me. ;)  Also I think it would be delicious with fresh basil, I don’t have any right now during wintertime, but I did have some basil that I froze in olive oil this summer, so I used that and this was still a great dish.  Can’t wait to try it with fresh basil, which I love.  Please check out Katherine’s recipe here.

Rigatoni with Braised Chicken in Saffron Cream, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

2 pounds boneless chicken breast (bone-in with skin or thighs with skin and bones would also be great and add lots more flavor, I just had and used boneless)

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large shallot, chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cups sparkling cider (or grape juice, or apple juice)

1 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed

2 cups chicken broth (I used low-sodium)

1 pound rigatoni pasta (penne would be fine, too)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons (or more to taste) fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup frozen basil, packed in olive oil, thawed (or 2/3 cup fresh basil, chopped)

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and cook until golden, about 7 minutes per side.  Transfer chicken to a plate.  Add shallot and cook until softened.  Add garlic and cook just another minute or so.  Add sparkling cider and saffron to the skillet and bring to a boil.  Continue to boil until liquid is slightly thickened and reduced by almost half, about 8 minutes.  Add the chicken broth.  Return the chicken to the skillet, bring it all to a boil, then reduce heat to low.  Cover it and simmer it gently until chicken is very tender, 30 minutes or so, depending on if you’re using bone-in chicken with skin, may require a little bit longer cooking time.  Transfer the chicken to a plate and let cool enough to handle.

Shred chicken and set aside.  Reserve skillet juices.  Cook the rigatoni in a pot of boiling salted water to al dente, according to package directions.  Drain pasta.  While it is cooking, add cream to the skillet and boil until sauce is reduced to  about 2  1/2 cups and is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes.  Once it is boiling, turn heat to medium.  Stir in 2 tablespoons lemon juice, then the chicken pieces.  Stir over medium heat until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in the pasta and toss to coat.  Stir in the basil.  Serve.

Frozen/thawed basil is definitely not as pretty as fresh, but it’s just as tasty!

And finally—cookies!  I always like trying new cookies, especially if they are chocolate chip cookies and even more so if they have whole wheat flour.  Yes, because then I can use the excuse that they are healthier and I don’t feel as guilty eating them. 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made half the recipe for these cookies.  Katherine adapted the recipe from Kim Boyce, author of Good to the Grain.  My cookies aren’t quite as thick as Katherine’s, but it is probably because I did not adjust the recipe for my high altitude, as I often do.  These were still great, especially if you like a crunchier type of chocolate chip cookie.  These were perfectly chewy with a crisp outside when they came out of the oven and cooled just enough to eat.  They were pretty crispy the next day, but certainly still great tasting.  When I make them again, I will probably bake them a few minutes less, though the recipes says 16-20 minutes and I only baked them for 15 minutes.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1  1/2 cups (180 grams) whole white flour (I used white whole wheat)

1 teaspoon baking powder  (I did adjust this slightly for high altitude baking)*

1/4 teaspoon baking soda (I also adjusted this slightly for high altitude baking)*

3/4 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup (110 grams) light brown sugar (recipe called for dark)

1/4 teaspoon molasses (because I didn’t use dark brown sugar)

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 ounces bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60%)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a medium sized bowl and whisk together.  Cream the butter in an electric mixer and add the sugars, beating until well combined and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.  Add the eggs and mix in the vanilla.  Beat until combined.  Scrape sides of bowl.  Add the dry ingredients and mix just until fully incorporated.  Scoop the dough to about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie onto the baking sheet.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown.

*The regular recipe uses 3/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, in case you want to use that amount instead of my small adjustment for high altitude.

Mmmm, now I’m hungry and it’s bedtime!  Thanks, Katherine, love your blog!

 

 

Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake with Blueberry Compote

Happy New Year!  I’m still here.  Looking back and seeing that I haven’t blogged since Dec. 19, I couldn’t believe it had been that long.  So, the holidays are over and I’ve decided out with the old and in with the new.  What does that mean?  Looking back and the number of recipes I have made and didn’t get to share with you, I have picked a few that I decided needed to be here—so out with the old. ;)  Stay tuned for plenty of new.

This Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake was just perfect.  I made it for my book group back in October.  It was a big hit and as much as I love chocolate desserts and seem more drawn to them, this was great and makes me think I need to choose other options besides chocolate more often.

After reading the book that was chosen for book group, Edenbrooke, by Julianne Donaldson, which was based in the 1800’s in England, I wanted to make something from that time period.  I did some searching on the internet and found that pound cake was popular in that time period.  By the way, the book was a great, simple, enjoyable read.  Here’s a description of the book from Amazon, which says it better than I could.

“Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she'll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry. From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing. Will Marianne be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke.”

The cake was simple and just has just the right amount of lemon.  I will for sure be making this again—when I’m back to eating sugar again.  Taking a break after the holidays, as many are, I’m sure.  Let’s just say, it’s no piece of cake, because I love cake…and cookies…and brownies…and pie….yeah, anyway, I’ll still post some more delicious things for you, but for now I’m cutting way back on treats myself.  sigh

I found the recipe after Googling it to look at different ones, from Stephanie’s blog, Just a Georgia Peach.  I think I must have looked at hundreds of recipe and I’m not sure what made me decide on this one.  Here’s my adapted recipe.

Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake with Blueberry Compote, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, adapted from Just a Georgia Peach

1  1/2 cups (180 grams) all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1  1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (just of 2 lemons)

zest of one lemon (about 1 tablespoon)

1/2 cup (120 grams) light sour cream  

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease a 9x5 inch bread pan with butter.  Dust pan with flour and tap out the extra.  Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl.  Set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until fluffy.  Add the sugar gradually and beat for 5 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time until each is combined.  Beat in lemon juice and zest.  Stir in the dry ingredients with a spatula.  Finally, add the sour cream and fold it in to the batter.  Spread the batter evenly in the pan.

Bake for about 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.  Cut around the edges of the pan to release the cake and remove it.  Cool it completely on a wire rack.  Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.  Serve with blueberry compote and sweetened whipped cream

Blueberry Compote, adapted from Paige at For Love of the Table

2 3/4 cups blueberries (about 14 ounces) (I used frozen, thawed)

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

4 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch (1/2 ounce)

zest of 1 lemon

Combine the berries with the sugar and citrus juice and let macerate for 30 minutes.  Transfer the berries to a saucepan.  Dissolve the cornstarch in a small amount of water and add to the berries with the zest.  Bring to a boil, stirring gently.  Let boil until the juices are clear and very thick—about 30 to 60 seconds.  Empty into a bowl and cool to room temperature without stirring.  Chill.  Makes a generous 2 cups.

This is a great go-to lemon pound cake.  You should try it.

Uma’s Orange Cake with Raspberry and Whipped Cream Topping—Secret Recipe Club

September Secret Recipe Club is here!  I’ve got another good one for you.  The blog I had this month was Elana, the Cooking Rookie at Cookbook of Trial and Error.  I was not familiar with the blog, but I spent some time scouring the blog posts and from the looks of the photos and all the yummy recipes, I had a hard time deciding which recipe to make.  I love that she mentions that last year she lost 55 pounds in 7 months and a lot of her recipes are tweaked with substitutions to save on calories and fat—yet the food and recipes still look delicious.  Some might not know that from Sept. 2007 to March 2008 I lost 40 pounds doing The Biggest Loser online plan.  Still could lose another 20 or so, but am proud to at least be holding on to that 40 pounds gone AND have THIS blog. ;)

After choosing to make the orange cake, I was then surprised by the instructions for the cake.  The recipe calls for one egg and two egg whites and the egg whites are beaten with the sugar until it forms peaks—almost like a meringue.  I have folded beaten egg whites into cake batter before, but not with all the sugar added to it.  I was actually a little apprehensive, but decided to follow the recipe instructions.  Even once the cake baked---

      I was thinking it was just going to be “meh” and have that lower-fat texture to it that I often don’t care for.  I was happy to find out that it was actually very moist with a nice crumb and super flavorful with all the orange in it!

The recipe included nonfat yogurt (I used Greek) and also had margarine—for that I used Bestlife buttery baking sticks, which are a 50% less fat than butter, no trans fat, no hydrogenated oils “butter” that I’ve really been liking lately.  I have baked a number of things with Bestlife and have not been disappointed with any of them!  The orange  cake gets a lot of its moisture from a half cup of freshly squeezed orange juice also.

I was thinking that the cake would be a little boring to just serve with its light glaze over it, so I whipped up a little raspberry filling (frozen/thawed raspberries and a little sugar, cornstarch and water, cooked on the stove until thickened).  While the cake was definitely delicious served with the raspberries on top (think strawberry shortcake, but with raspberries) and some whipped cream—oh and some chocolate shavings, of course--

  

It was actually really good by itself, too!

Sometime when I make it again, I’ll use whole wheat pastry flour as well for a little extra fiber.  (I have a 50 pound bag of it!)  I also used a different recipe for the glaze than the one she posted.

Uma’s Orange Cake from www.cookingrookie.blogspot.com, adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1  1/2 cups (180 grams) all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda (my addition, the original recipe did not have any—Katrina)

1 large egg, room temperature

2 large egg whites, room temperature

pinch of salt

2/3 cup (132 grams) granulated sugar

1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt, room temperature

1/4 cup butter substitute (I used Bestlife buttery baking sticks), room temperature

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

zest of one large orange (about 1 tablespoon)

1 teaspoon lemon juice (I put it in, but am not really sure it’s necessary—Katrina)

Orange Glaze--

juice of 1/2 an orange (was about 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Whisk together in a small bowl until no lumps of powdered sugar remain.  Set aside. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 inch round cake pan with cooking spray.  Set aside. 

Beat the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with a wire whisk attachment until soft peaks form.  Add the salt and beat for a minute or so, then gradually add the sugar a little at a time while beating.  After about one minute of beating once all the sugar is in is probably plenty—to firm, but not too stiff peaks.  Scrape the side of the bowl a few times in between additions.  Put the beaten egg whites with the sugar in a medium bowl so you can use the mixer bowl again.  (I didn’t wash it out.) 

Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a medium sized bowl.  Set aside.

In the bowl of the mixer, combine the butter substitute, yogurt, whole egg, orange juice, zest and lemon juice.  It will look curdled, but is okay.  Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the beaten egg whites, carefully folding them in with a spatula. 

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.  Let the cake cook 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack, then carefully remove the cake to cool completely on a wire rack.  When the cake has cooled, drizzle it with the glaze.  You can smooth it all around the top of the cake with a pastry brush.

Serve with raspberry filling and/or whipped cream—and a little chocolate shavings for that "Katrina” touch!

 

Elana didn’t say much about this cake when she posted it, just that it was her friend’s mom Uma’s cake with her “calorie saving” substitutions.  I was drawn in by its simplicity and its calorie saving-ness. ;)  Check out Cooking Rookie's blog Cookbook of Trial and Error—everything looks so good, I find it hard to believe she’s a rookie!

The Secret Recipe Club is a great place to be—lovin’ it!

 

Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Recipe

I did it.  I FINALLY (ha) got out the ice cream maker after months and months of it collecting dust in the cupboard.  Cherries are starting to show up in the store, so I recently bought a pound or two and decided to make this Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.  It’s perfect.  The cherry flavor is just right and the little pieces of dark chocolate speckled throughout are always a welcome touch to any ice cream, if you ask me. ;)

I did some hunting around on the internet for recipe ideas for the ice cream and decided on Elise’s Cherry Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips from Simply Recipes.  I adapted Elise’s recipe quite a bit, but most of the ingredients are the same amounts, so props to her.

One thing I did that she didn’t do in her recipe that I’m really glad I did was strain the warm milk and cherries.  I don’t care for bits of frozen fruit in my ice cream, though I love the flavor fruit gives.  Kevin came home from work and mentioned how he really dislikes chunks of fruit in ice cream (I already knew he doesn’t like fruity ice cream anyway, so this one wasn’t for him in the first place).  But it’s nice that this has no pieces of cherry skin and whatnot leftover after the warm milk and cherries went through the blender. 

For my own thrills, I used fat free milk for the milk and did use cream—therefore, the fat free cancelled out the cream.  Right?  Hello?  Anyway, like I said, this cherry ice cream has the perfect flavor and chocolate in every bite.  It was super easy to make, so you should give it a try.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

12 ounces (3/4 lb. or about 1  1/2 cups) ripe sweet cherries, pitted

3/4 cup fat free milk

1  3/4 cups cream

1/2 cup granulated sugar

pinch of salt

2 teaspoons lime juice (or lemon)

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

3 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped and melted*

6-10 drops of red food coloring (Optional—I thought it looked a little drab before adding a little touch of color)

Put cherries, milk, one cup of cream, sugar and salt into a medium sized saucepan.  Heat until the mixture is just barely forming bubbles around the edge over medium heat.  Reduce the heat to low and let sit for 15 minutes.   Remove from heat.  Pour the mixture into a blender and puree, being careful since the liquid is hot.  Make sure the lid is on the blender well and hold it down while it’s blending.  Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a medium sized bowl and discard the bits remaining.

Stir in the remaining cream.  Put the bowl in a large bowl filled with ice and water for about 30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes.  This will quick chill the mixture.  You can also put it in a covered container in the fridge for a few hours.  I always do the quick ice bath.

Stir in the lime juice and almond extract and whisk to combine.  Pour mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instruction, 20-25 minutes.  During the last five minutes of churning, drizzle in the melted chocolate (*20 second intervals in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave, stirring in between each until melted and smooth, then let it cool slightly).  Put the ice cream in an airtight container and freeze for a few hours (or longer).

Apricot & Bing Cherry Crisp with Almond Crumb Topping and Apple Crisp with Walnut Crumb Topping

I came into a TON of apricots over the last week or so (Thanks, Cindy!!!), so I’ve been having fun with all kinds of things made with apricots.  These apricots were really small (because they had not been pruned on the trees when they first started growing).  They were still super tasty. 

This bucket of apricots was about 2 feet deep.  The boys and I were loving just eating them right out of the bucket.  You can see a regular sized one there with the minis.  They had no taste difference.  Sam declared that he likes “baby apricops” the most.  Picking through the most ripe ones, I made apricot sorbet (I’ll post that soon—it’s delicious!).  I also pitted and halved a bunch of them and froze them. 

Then I remembered an apricot crisp I had the pleasure of eating at one of Chef Paige's classes I had back in Kansas.  So I looked through my BIG binder full of her recipes from all the classes I took and found it.  I made the crisp (along with an apple crisp, using the same recipe with minor adjustments) on Sunday and we had some family over for dessert.  The crisps were great with the homemade vanilla ice cream I’d also made.

Crisps are so simple to make.  I got the simple ingredients for the topping ready.  I have really learned to love mise en place (French term roughly meaning “everything in its place”).  Before starting a recipe, have everything you need already measured and ready to go.   I also love to measure everything with a kitchen scale as much as I can for perfect measuring.

You might see the almonds in there, I accidentally mixed them in with all the ingredients when they should be stirred in after the topping looks like this---

I’m pretty sure the only thing it might have changed was it broke the almond slices in to smaller pieces.  You can make the crumb topping ahead of time and put it in the freezer days ahead if you’d like.  Make a bunch of them and store them in the freezer for a month or two.  You’ll always have an even easier dessert ready to put together when company is coming.  While the topping was taking a little snooze in the refrigerator, I worked on preparing the fruit.

I quickly and easily pitted the cherries with this cherry pitter I found at Bed Bath & Beyond for $15.  It pits four cherries at a time.  Perfect for the amount of cherries I do during their season, which isn’t a ton, but enough that the one-cherry-at-a-time pitter just takes too long.

 

The smaller holes are for tart cherries, which would fall through the larger holes. 

Mixed in the sugar, lemon juice and almond extract and put it in my 9x13 inch (3 qt.) Pyrex dish.  Love the colors of this!

Then I covered all the pretty fruit up with the topping and baked it in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes. Here it is cooling next to the apple crisp I made right after the apricot one.

Ahh, smelled so good.  (I know, that’s a lot of crisp.  Why do you think I invited people over? ;))

 

Apricot & Bing Cherry Crisp with Almond Crumb Topping, adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys! from Chef Paige Vandegrift (www.acookinglifeblog.blogspot.com)

Topping:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

¾ cup all purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

3/8 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated if possible)

9 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 ½ cups old fashioned oats

1/3 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Combine the sugar, flour, salt and nutmeg in a medium sized bowl. Rub in the butter until the ingredients are combined and have a crumbly appearance. Stir in the almonds and set aside.

Filling:

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 ½ pounds apricots, halved and pitted (about 8 cups)

1 pound Bing cherries, halved and pitted

1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice (I used half a lemon)

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

In a small bowl, stir together the flour and sugar; set aside. Depending on the size of the apricots, cut each half into 3 or 4 wedges and cut each wedge in half cross-wise. The goal is to have the chunks of apricot the same size as the cherry halves. In a large bowl, toss the apricots and cherries with the lemon juice and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir until all of the flour-sugar mixture is moistened.

Turn the fruit mixture into a shallow 2 ½ to 3 quart glass, ceramic or earthenware baking dish. Spread the crumb topping over all. Bake in a 375 degree oven until the topping is golden and crisp and the fruit is bubbling—about 40 minutes. Cool slightly and serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Note: Use this recipe as a template for any fruit crisp. Substitute 7 to 8 cups of fruit for the apricots and cherries and adjust the sugar to taste.

 

For the apple crisp, I used the same recipe for the topping, but used whole wheat flour just for the fun of it, half a cup of walnuts in place of the almonds and added one teaspoon ground cinnamon.  And for the fruit, I used 8 cups (2 pounds) of Granny Smith apples (I had a bag of them that needed used up).  I used 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup dried tart cherries (chopped), juice of half a lemon and again 2 tablespoon of whole wheat flour.  (You couldn’t even tell it was whole wheat flour in this crisp!)

Thanks to Paige for the great crisp recipe.  It will certainly be my go-to for all crisps (the crumb topping is the best!).