Stone Fruit Crisp

Labor Day weekend is here amongst us and with it marks the return of college football and the first whispers of fall. But not ready to relinquish summer too soon, I’ve saw a recent recipe that involved my home state peach and decided to put a firehouse spin on it. Not wanting to sacrifice valuable TV time to the kitchen and a labor-intensive dessert, this involves very little prep time (15 minutes, maybe) with most of the work done in the oven (an hour). No excuses here.

This recipe is equally good with any stone fruit, heck even figs, but since peaches are a plenty now, I went with them. Yes, this marks a return to the alter of the peach but when you first slice threw the warm, yielding flesh that screams of sunshine and sugar, you understand the devotion. Baked, as in this presentation, grilled, poached, sautéed, or fresh, there is no end to its versatility.

A few after the fire critiques: Nectarines and plums are great alternatives to the peach. One stone fruit will feed two people or one firefighter so get enough. I use cardamom as the spice but I’ve experimented with nutmeg (fall type flavor), garam masala mixes (savory and sweet), smoked paprika (intriguing), chili powder (background heat), and all to varying degrees of success. Have fun y’all.

*This was adapted from Deb Perelman

Stone Fruit Crisp with Brown Sugar Cream - With summer fading and fall seemingly upon us come Labor Day weekend, that means one thing, and one thing only, FOOTBALL! All that being said, I wanted to provide a firehouse recipe that only requires 15 minutes prep time and an hour in the oven, all the more time to watch your beloved team in action.

Fuel

4-6 Peaches, Nectarines, Plums, or any other Stone Fruit

Sour Cream (1 Cup)

Brown Sugar (⅓ Cup)

Rice Krispies Cereal (1½ Cup)

Oatmeal (rolled ¾ Cup)

Corn Starch (1 Tbsp.)

Sugar (turbinado preferred, ⅓ Cup)
Unsalted Butter (4 Tbsp. or half a stick)

Vanilla (1 Tbsp.)

Salt (¾ tsp.)

Cardamom for shaving

Tools

Food Processor or Blender

Sauté Pan

Various Bowls

Baking Dish/Sheet

Whisk

Tactics

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Slice the stone fruit in half, remove the pits, and gentle scrape the now empty cavity clean. Slice the tail end of each half to ensure it doesn’t slide. Place on the baking dish and reserve.

Meanwhile, place butter in the sauté pan over medium heat and slowly cook till a light brown color is achieved, 8-10 minutes, and reserve.

Place the Rice Crispy cereal, oatmeal, turbinado (sugar), cornstarch, ½ the vanilla, and ½ the salt into the food processor and mix to combine. Add the butter and mix till is resembles coarse sand. Carefully place the crisp onto each peach half ensuring to cover them generously. Then, using the backside of a spoon, carefully flatten the crisp. Place into the oven on the middle rack for 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the sour cream, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt and mix till the brown sugar dissolves. Repeat, brown sugar + sour cream, who knew? Taste it, it’s awesome.

Remove the peaches when the tops have lightly browned and the peaches can be easily pierced with a fork. Place a generous amount of the brown sugar cream across the top and shave some Cardamom over it to taste. Indulge.