Cherry Crisp with Sliced Almonds makes for the perfect dessert. Especially after a hearty Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
Fresh cherries are bountiful in the Summer, especially when you live 5 minutes away from several farm stands and a Farmer's Market. That's why I decided to make this cherry crisp using two different types of cherries (though you can just use one type if that's all you have available).
Sweet and sour cherries are used in this recipe and are topped with a crumble made of oats, sliced almonds, light brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and even more goodness. Then, to top it off: a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum.
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What's the difference between a cherry crumble and a cherry crisp?
Good question.
Honestly, I didn't know at first either and had to look it up.
The difference between a crumble and a crisp is that a crisp uses oats while a crumble is more of a cake batter topping. A crisp is, in fact, more crispy than a crumble. Therefore, I am all for the crisp. (Don't come for me.)
Not only are cherries and almonds a match made in heaven, but the sliced almonds in the topping add even more crunch to our crisp topping. I think you're really going to enjoy this one.
What Makes my Gluten Free Cherry Crisp so good?
- The combination of both sweet and sour cherries. I used half dark cherries (the sweet kind) and half Morello-type sour cooking cherries I bought from my local farm stand. I believe the sour cherries are called Early Richmond's, but if you know otherwise please do tell me.
- Freshly-squeezed lemon juice for a bright, citrusy tang.
- Pure vanilla extract because it belongs in all baked goods.
- GF rolled oats. I buy Thrive Market brand - they are organic, certified GF, and the most inexpensive I've found. (Get 40% off your first order + sometimes a free gift.)
- A high-quality GF all-purpose flour, of course. I prefer to use Great Value's GF All Purpose Flour because it is inexpensive and performs/tastes as well as other pricier GF flours I've tried.
- Light brown sugar. Seriously, whenever a recipe has this in it I know it's going to be good.
- Ground cinnamon.
- Unsalted butter.
- Vanilla ice cream, for serving.
How to Make:
- Rinse and pit cherries. Tip: This part took me a good while. I highly recommend sitting at your kitchen counter while pitting and watching a show. If you can get your hands on a cherry pitter before this, I highly recommend it. I used a little cheese knife I had to help dig under the pit. It worked pretty well, but be careful not to cut yourself.
- Once the cherries are pitted, place the rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 375 F. Grease/ butter an 8-inch square cake pan. Be sure to coat the bottom and up the sides.
- For the Cherry Filling: Add pitted and stemmed cherries, granulated sugar, organic cornstarch, pure vanilla extract, and lemon juice to a large bowl. Stir until evenly coated. Pour mixture into prepared cake pan and spread into an even layer.
- For the Oat Topping: In a medium bowl, combine oats, high-quality GF all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add melted butter, then stir until the mixture is consistent. Fold in sliced almonds.
- Sprinkle topping evenly over the cherry mixture. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the cherry mixture is bubbling and the oat topping is lightly browned. Tip: Place a cookie sheet under the cake pan before baking. That way, if any cherry sauce bubbles out it will be caught by the pan underneath.
- Let sit 10-15 minutes. Then, serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator and eat within 2-3 days. When eating leftovers: you may want to warm it back up in the oven so the topping becomes crispy again.
Cherry Crisp - Gluten Free
Ingredients
For the Cherry Filling
- 5 cups pitted and stemmed cherries (i used half dark red/sweet cherries and half Morello sour cherries)
- 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (add 1-2 tablespoon extra if using all or mostly sour cherries)
- 2 tablespoon organic corn starch
For the Oat Topping:
- 1 cup GF rolled oats
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ⅔ cup high quality GF all-purpose flour containing xanthan gum (I use Bob's Red Mill 1:1) *You can replace with regular all-purpose if not GF*
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- vanilla ice cream for serving
Instructions
- Rinse and pit cherries. Tip: Be seated while doing this, it can take a while. If you have a cherry pitter; use it. If not, I used a cheese knife to dig underneath the pit. It worked well, just be careful not to cut yourself.
- Once cherries are pitted, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 F. Butter an 8-inch square cake pan, making sure to coat the bottom and up the sides.
- For the Cherry Filling: Add pitted and stemmed cherries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, pure vanilla extract, and lemon juice to a large bowl. Stir until evenly coated. Pour mixture into prepared cake pan and spread into an even layer.
- For the Oat Topping: In a medium bowl, combine oats, gf all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add melted butter, then stir until the mixture is consistently moist. Fold in sliced almonds.
- Sprinkle topping evenly over the cherry mixture. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the cherry mixture is bubbling and the oat topping is lightly browned. Tip: Place a cookie sheet under the cake pan before baking. That way, if cherry sauce bubbles out it will be caught by the pan underneath.
- Let Cherry Crisp sit for 10-15 minutes at room temperature. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.
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