Plum and Apple Crisp

I made this back in, gulp, September.  In September when you could still wear flip flops.  In September when there were still flowers at the farm down the road.  In September when it was still light out at 4:30.  Before we had snow.  Before I got completely overwhelmed with school and took some time off from sharing recipes and pictures with you.  But I am back, baby!  I can't make any promises that blog posts will be super consistent.  Because they probably won't be.  But now that it is dark at 4:30 why not bake?  And share!  And get myself back into the swing of things.  So here we go!

This is a super simple crisp recipe.  So simple you may say, "Really, Maggie, I know how to do that already!"  But it is delicious.  And the skin on the plums makes it bright pink.  And really you can sub in any fruit that you want and just make sure that you have enough crumbly, buttery, crunchy topping to cover everything.

For the fruit:

This is enough fruit to fill a 12 inch oval baking dish.  If you want to make a full 9 x 13 pan just add enough apples and plums to come to just below the lip of the baking dish.

6 apples - peeled, cored and chopped into approximately 1/2 inch pieces
I use Cortlands because I like the way they get soft when baked - almost like chunky applesauce.  If you prefer something that holds up more when you bake by all means go ahead and use whatever you like
6 black plums - pits removed, quartered and then each quarter cut in half
1 tsp cinnamon (I really like Saigon cinnamon because it is spicy)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

If your apples are tart you may want to sprinkle a few tablespoons of sugar into fruit with the spices.

I put everything right into the baking dish I will be using, no need to get another bowl dirty!  Sprinkle the spices, and sugar if you are using it, on top of the fruit.  If you feel the need toss everything together with a spatula.  Sometimes I do.  Sometimes I don't.  I don't worry about it.  This is an unfussy dessert.  Comfort food.

The crisp:

Because I love a good crispy, crunchy, buttery topping I make enough to cover a 9 x 13 pan even when I am using my smaller oval baking dish.  If you prefer to have less topping just cut it in half.  Halving the crisp topping will give you enough, in my opinion, for an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan.

1/2 cup of unsalted butter - melted
1 cup thick rolled oats
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt

EASY!

Mix it all together and spoon, or dump, over the fruit.

Preheat oven to 375.

I always put my crisp on a cookie sheet, or the bottom half of the broiler pan, when I bake it.  A syrupy fruit volcano is never good!

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbly and the top is golden brown.  If the topping is browning too quickly just make a foil tent and the fruit will continue to cook and the crisp won't get too brown.

Bubbly and gooey and crispy like this!

Serve it up warm with with vanilla ice cream.  I don't have a picture.  Austin, Kathy and I ate it too fast!  I'm sure you can use your imagination.