When you grow up in sour cherry country, you develop a very expensive problem, and this Dying for Summer Apple or Pear and Cherry Almond Crisp is a great solution. Your problem? You need sour cherries. Too bad they’re really difficult to get outside of cherry country. And outside of cherry season. And definitely really expensive when outside of season and county. In college I used to make sure that I horded some cherries in July and ferried them home with me on the plane. Then travel changed and frozen cherries in their own juice became considered a dangerous hazard, cue eye roll. But despite the change in airline regulations, I still had a strong need for cherries. To be sure, there are some fancy companies that will ship frozen cherries anytime of the year for a small fortune, and now that I have a friend with access to sour cherries here in Philly, some of my problem has been solved by freezing them in July. But just in case, I have come up with some workarounds for myself when cherry fever hits and I’m without sour cherries. This Dying for Summer Apple or Pear and Cherry Almond Crisp is one of them. Because the cherries are so much stronger in flavor, they dominate the apples or pears and you almost can’t tell that it’s mostly made of apples. It will take you straight to cherry picking in July when you can make this Dying for Summer Apple or Pear and Cherry Almond Crisp with cherries only.
- 2- 3 pounds sour cherries
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 – 3 tablespoons kirsch (other brandy will substitute just fine)
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 4 cups chopped granny smith apples or very firm pears
- ½ - ¾ cup dried and sweetened tart cherries (you may wish to microwave them in ½ cup water if they seem dry and sad to you)
- ¼ - ½ cup sugar with the pears or apples
- 1 – 3 tablespoons kirsch (other brandy will substitute just fine)
- 1 tablespoon flour
- ⅔ cup almonds (I like slivered, but chopped or sliced works fine)
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup flour
- ⅓ cup oats
- ⅓cup brown sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter diced and softened
- Preheat the oven to 375° F.
- Mix the fruit right in the pan you intend to bake it in. I like to use a fluted white 10-inch tart pan. I often toss with my hands and add extra flour if it seems really juicy.
- Bake for 50 minutes.
- Finger combine the topping. Place the topping on the hot fruit and bake an additional 25 minutes.
Serve hot with vanilla ice cream and of course, check out my other sour cherry recipes.
You read my mind! I’ve been wanting this very desert!
Yay! I love when that happens. I hope you enjoy.
Looks great!n I like the idea of the pears. I shall have to figure out how to send you some cherries. Love you!