Best Cherry Crisp Easy Made With Fresh Cherries Wellplated Com

You. I know you. You’re that sneaky scoundrel who stole more than your share of the wondrous topping off of my cherry crisp. I’m only upset because you beat me to it. Here to deliver justice to all: an EXTRA oat topping homemade cherry crisp! No more disappointment, no more topping fights, no more inappropriately naked fruit fillings. Thanks to an overload of oat topping, there can now be peace, harmony, and total silence as we bury our faces in servings of homemade cherry crisp with fair and equal topping distribution. You’re welcome! While cherry (or any summer fruit) crisp topping does have divine powers and has been known to cause feuds, for me it’s all about the cherries. I simply ADORE fresh cherries (to the extent that I had to buy this cherry pitter to keep up with my mass consumption) and consider their peak season cruelly short. All the more reason to bake a fresh cherry crisp! Whether you’re all about the filling or all about the topping, I think we can all agree that the beauty of cherry crisp is the way a few simple ingredients—fresh fruit, oatmeal, brown sugar, butter—bake together into something more meaningful, comforting, and classically delectable than any single component on its own. Sweet Cherries

Bing and Rainier are among the most common sweet cherry varieties in the United States. Bing cherries have darker red skin and flesh while Rainier cherries have a mottled bright red and yellow exterior. When baking with sweet cherries, lemon juice is often added to balance their sweetness.

Tart Cherries

Montmorency cherries are the most common tart cherry you’ll see in supermarkets. Grown in Michigan and upper Wisconsin, you can find fresh tart cherries occasionally but they are a precious commodity due to their short growing season (our farmers markets sell out of them by 9 am). Most often, you see them frozen or canned. When baking with tart cherries, extra sugar is often added to the recipe to help balance their sourness.

If you can find sour cherries, USE THEM! Their flavor is spectacularly intense. If not, this cherry crisp is still wonderful with sweet cherries too (Bing cherries are what you see pictured here). (I submit this Slow Cooker Triple Berry Crisp as further evidence.)

How to Make Cherry Crisp

Making cherry crisp (or Cherry Bars) is easy summer living at its finest.

Cherry Crisp. A cherry base with a topping that includes oats as well as flour, sugar and butter. It’s usually crunchier than its cousins, hence the “crisp” name.Cherry Crumble. Almost identical to a crisp, minus the oats. This makes the topping resemble a denser streusel—similar to what you find on bakery-style muffins (like on these Coffee Cake Muffins).Cherry Cobbler. Incorporates either a biscuit-like or cake-like batter (like with this Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler) that is dolloped on top of the fruit and then forms a light crust over the fruit filling once baked.

How are they similar? Beyond the cherries, they’re all also super easy to make and super delicious. Simply combine the filling ingredients, mix up the topping, and sprinkle it over the top of the filling.

The Ingredients

Cherries. The stars of the show (just don’t tell the topping). I’ve made this recipe using both sweet bing cherries and tart cherries too. Both are delish!

Rolled Oats. The key ingredient that gives this topping its oatmeal cookie-like texture and appearance.Cornstarch. Thickens the cherry filling.Vanilla and Almond Extract. You can’t go wrong with a little vanilla and the almond extract adds that hint of something extra that makes this cherry crisp truly divine.All-Purpose and Whole Wheat Flour. Using a 50/50 split gives this crisp a little boost of nutrients like vitamin B1, B3, and B5, along with riboflavin, folate, iron, and calcium.

Brown Sugar. Use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar if you prefer a richer molasses flavor in your topping.Cinnamon. Everything is better with a little dusting of cinnamon.

The Directions

Storage Tips

To Store. Cover the crisp, and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.To Reheat. To breathe life back into the topping, I like to warm leftovers in the oven at 350 degrees F until hot. You can also reheat this recipe in the microwave in a pinch.To Freeze. Store cherry crisp in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

In case you were wondering (or looking for validation), cherry crisp is totally breakfast-appropriate. You also can assemble the cherry crisp up to the point of baking and refrigerate it 1 day in advance. Try it with a scoop of plain Greek yogurt. Not only will you feel like a champion in the morning, but also you’ll beat your siblings/Labrador/life partner to the leftovers.

Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe

Mixing Bowls. I love this nesting set so you have the right bowl for the job every time.Rubber Spatula. Perfect for folding your ingredients together.