This is the fruit crisp of my dreams.
Bursting with fresh & sweet in-season fruit, topped with a generous layer of crumbly whole wheat oatmeal crisp, and no butter or refined sugar in sight.
It does not get any better than this!
Let’s start with the fruit filling.
I think I choose a different favorite summer fruit every day, but peaches and blueberries have both been exceptionally good lately. You’ll want to choose large peaches that are ripe (sniff the stem end… they should smell sweet) but not too soft; otherwise, they’ll be difficult to slice.
To help make a juicy saucy filling, we’re going to use unsweetened blueberry juice (which I had to take a few sips of before snapping these photos… you know to “test” it). This sweet/tart juice is reduced on the stovetop until thick and syrupy, and is then poured over the fresh fruit.
That’s it! No sweetener at all is added to the filling.
While we’re here, let’s just take a quick closer look at the label of this blueberry juice.
There are so many fruit juices on store’s shelves these days, but most are glorified uncarbonated sodas in terms of how much added sugar they have. Opt instead for a no-sugar added all-fruit juice if possible.
I found the Lakewood brand at Whole Foods, and though quite pricey at $9.99, it uses organic blueberries NOT from concentrate… and nothing else! No sugar, no preservatives, no additional fruit juice. Just “Fresh Pressed Juice and Puree From Whole Ripe Certified Organic Blueberries.”
Perfect!
So the reduced syrupy blueberry juice is poured over the fruit…
… and then topped with a thick blanket of oatmeal crisp topping.
Let’s pull over for a second.
If you prefer a higher ratio of fruit to crisp, you’ll want to halve the topping ingredient amounts. But, let’s be honest, isn’t the topping the best part of a fruit crisp?!
First of all, this raw crisp topping tastes like oatmeal cookie dough; and it’s comprised merely of rolled oats, whole wheat pastry flour, salt, cinnamon, oil, and maple syrup (and not a whole lot of those last two ingredients – in fact, 1 Tbsp or less of each per serving). I literally had to slap my own hands away from eating the raw oatmeal mixture.
And when it bakes to perfection on top of the fruit? Oh, it’s heaven I tell you!
The crumbly granola-like topping sinks into the bubbly fruit filling, creating the ideal (for me) ratio of fruit to crisp.
One of the many great things about a fruit crisp recipe is that you can swap in different fruits depending on taste preference and seasonality. This summer, try cherries & nectarines or apricots. In the fall, you can bet that I’ll be trying this recipe with apples. You’ll just want to use a corresponding unsweetened fruit juice; many grocery stores carry apricot juice, and apple juice is everywhere.
Regardless of the type of fruit you use, any crisp simply begs for a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt… or a few dollops of Greek yogurt if you’re enjoying leftovers for breakfast, which of course I did ;).
Another nice aspect of fruit crisps is that you can serve them at any temperature, which means you can easily make this in advance to serve at room temperature for a 4th of July celebration tomorrow! Choose your favorite locally grown organic fruit, serve the crisp with ice cream, and you have a crowd-pleasing all-American dessert worthy of the holiday.
Blueberry Peach Crisp
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 70 minutes
Keywords: bake breakfast dessert vegan vegetarian July 4th crisp American summer
Ingredients (8 servings)
Ingredients for the fruit filling:
- 3 large ripe but slightly firm peaches, preferably organic, pitted and thinly sliced (no need to peel)
- 1 pint blueberries, preferably organic
- 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 3/4 cup unsweetened blueberry juice (not from concentrate), preferably organic, divided use
- 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Ingredients for the crisp topping:
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup neutral-flavored vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, preferably grade B
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss the sliced peaches, blueberries, and lemon juice together and spread in an even layer in a 9 inch baking pan.
For the filling: Heat 1 1/2 cups blueberry juice in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat until simmering. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup blueberry juice and arrowroot powder until no lumps remain. Whisk the arrowroot “slurry” into the simmering blueberry juice. Bring mixture to a low boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer until mixture is has thickened and reduced by half – whisking every now and then – about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract and salt, and pour over the fruit in the pan.
For the crisp topping: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, salt, & cinnamon; whisk to combine. Stir in oil and maple syrup; stir to combine. Evenly crumble the crisp topping over the fruit.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes (you’ll probably want to place a baking sheet underneath the crisp to catch any overflow). Remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until the crisp topping is golden brown and the fruit filling is hot and bubbling.
Let sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
361.8 calories, 10.7 grams fat, 1.1 grams saturated fat, 9.7 grams fiber, 20.5 grams sugars, 5.5 grams protein
