i threw this crisp (or crumble–i’m never sure what the difference is) together last night out of necessity. i literally had some plums on the counter that needed retiring (the necessary part) and some raspberries in the freezer. i also had a palmful of almonds and a half container of amaretti (and this post also inspired me) that needed using. the juice of one orange, the insides of one vanilla bean, a few tablespoons of flour and butter and this crisp was born. it came together so quickly and easily that i had very low expectations. but, it was sweet and tart and crunchy and had a beautifully jewel toned, bubbling syrup. my expectations were wrong, but that made for even more enjoyable results.
crisp topping
in retrospect adding orange zest would have been nice in the topping. dang.
4 tbsp cold butter cut into pieces
10 amaretti
3 tbsp flour
1/4 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1/8 tsp cinnamon
preheat oven to 375 F
crush amaretti into bowl with hands, add all ingredients and combine with fingers until desired texture is reached, i like an uneven mixture. set aside (i put mine in the freezer) while you assemble the fruit filling.
fruit filling
makes enough for about 4 ramekins
1 cup pitted, chopped plums
1/2 cup raspberries
1/8 tsp cinnamon
a few grates of fresh nutmeg
1 orange, juiced
1 vanilla bean, seeds only
1 tsp cornstarch
coat fruits in cornstarch and add remaining ingredients, tossing to coat. spoon mixture into ramekins and top with crisp topping. bake for 20 minutes or until crisp is brown and juices are bubbling.
