Crisp, ever the afterthought dessert

Yesterday I decided at the last minute I was going to make a quick dessert for a friend's Steelers party.  Whenever I do anything last minute, I almost inevitably end up doing a drop cookie or a shortbread cookie because the ingredients are easy to grab and after a while, you can make them in your sleep.

However, yesterday I had a lot of fruit that needed to be used and a crisp seemed like the perfect fall dessert (incidentally, I also made a peanut butter cookie, but that's for another post).

Cooks Illustrated last month did an article on apple crisp and how it's always just ok, but not great, because crisp is an easy, afterthought dessert.  Food Network magazine also did a spread on fruit crisps a few months ago.  You essentially need fruit, sugar, flour, butter, brown sugar, a nut and a grain.  The different varieties of crisp possible from this formula are endless.

For instance, yesterday I made a crisp of cherries, blueberries and Italian plums with a hit of allspice and topped it with an almond oatmeal crumble and brought fresh cinnamon whipped cream.  I thought it turned out great, except that it was overly juicy.  If I had to do it again, I would bake it like this recipe calls for, which has you cook the fruit on the stove top first and then bake it, but when you are in a hurry, these extra steps aren't really necessary.

You could also do a decadent pear crisp with a walnut, flax and oat streusel topping.  Or a raspberry and blackberry crisp with a pecan, honey, and cornmeal streusel.  See what I mean?

Your options are limitless once you learn the basic formula for crisp.   For your basic crisp formula, go here, to the Food Network guide.  They teach you the basics really well in this handy little article.  

If you aren't in the mood to make crisp at home, but do so love a fruit crisp as all Sugar Lovin people must, crisp is fairly easy to get anywhere you go.  Here in Pittsburgh, the Pie Place has a cherry crisp and an apple crisp daily, and occasionally does a peach crisp or a mixed berry crisp.

This is also a common restaurant dessert.  My favorite is from Eleven in the strip.  They do an apple crumble pie which is delectable.  In reality, it's a new take on a dutch apple pie, but then that's kind of what apple crisp is to begin with.  

In Chicago, at Hot Chocolate in the Wicker Park neighborhood, pastry chef Mindy Segal has dreamed up everything from a raspberry crisp (summer seasonal dessert) to her glorious apple for the fall (notice the apple theme is going to start ringing loud and clear now that we've entered the fall). 

In a pinch, make a fruit crisp.  They are quick, easy and super-tasty as long as you can get the basics down.  Plus, in a worst-case scenario, you can always top the crisp with a big dollop of vanilla ice cream to disguise the flaws!