Flexible Fruit Crisp

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I’m so excited to be a guest culinary instructor at Operation Food Search‘s Dining On A Dime event this week. I was invited to make a whole grain dessert that highlights a dish the kids in our Cooking Matters classes enjoy that is healthy, budget friendly and uses only simple tools and methods. This flexible fruit crip is perfect! It showcases whatever fruit is in season (or available frozen) which means it tastes great and the cost stays reasonable. It uses white whole wheat flour only so it is healthy without a long list of expensive grains or flours that aren’t likely to be used in other recipes. And it can be mixed up in one bowl and baked in a toaster oven! Best of all, the girls in my after school baking classes have loved it.

Flexible Fruit Crisp
 
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This kid friendly fruit crisp is made from whole grains and is delicious with any fruit you have available!
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 10 servings
Ingredients
  • Filling:
  • 8 cups sliced apples (or peaches, plums, nectarines, blueberries, blackberries, etc. A mixture of fruits works great, as does frozen fruit)
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon (or baking spice, apple pie spice, etc.)
  • Topping:
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ¾ cup white whole wheat flour (or any whole grain flour such as oat or barley flour)
  • ½ cup rolled oats
  • ½ cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts, etc. or just substitute with rolled oats!)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ teaspoon cinnamon (or baking spice, apple pie spice, etc.)
  • ½ cup (1 stick) softened butter
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350.
  2. Mix the fruit, ½ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 tablespoon of spice together in a bowl.
  3. Pour the fruit into a deep dish pie plate, or similar sized baking dish of any sort.
  4. In the same bowl, mix together all the topping ingredients except the butter.
  5. Cut the butter into small pieces and drop it into the bowl.
  6. Using your clean fingers (this is the fun part!) work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly with no large chunks of butter remaining.
  7. Pour the topping over the fruit and spread it around. It doesn't need to be perfect.
  8. Bake about forty minutes until the fruit bubbles and the top is golden brown.