Individual Cherry Crisps

These are so pretty to look at that you almost don’t want to eat them, but DO! They are beyond yum!

I like the bright taste of sour cherries, which give a tangy pop even when you add sugar to the mix. These crisps are very simple to make but require a couple of steps.

First take jarred or canned sour cherries and drain well. I used a colander to do so but since these are pitted cherries, they still ooze some liquid. Then take 4-5 tablespoons of cornstarch. This is more than usual but you will need it so that the cherries set up properly when cooled. Toss the cornstarch and a few tablespoons of sugar with the cherries.

As you can see, the liquid keeps pooling under the cherries even though they are drained. It’s fine since you will use a fork or slotted spoon to scoop them out so that most of the liquid is left behind and the remainder will bond with the cornstarch to a thick almost jelled sauce after baking.

Set aside and make the crisp topping.

Stir the dry ingredients together in a bowl and then melt the butter/marg (I do it in the microwave in a pyrex cup)

Then pour the melted butter/marg over the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon and then with your hands if need be to get a nice clumpy mixture like so:

Don’t break it up more than this, this kind of clumpiness makes for a crunchy topping, fervently to be desired 😉 .Next take out NOT a muffin pan but rather those individual muffin cups, here I would use the metal ones, and spray well with oil spray. Then, using a slotted spoon or fork, evenly distribute the cherry mixture onto the bottom of the cups.

As you can see, you still have liquid pooling. That’s fine, it will solidify, trust me.

Then I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup and scooping the crisp topping mixture, covered the cherries with it.

This generously covers to the top 14 normal sized muffin cups. Do not use a regular muffin tin since you will struggle to remove the crisp and potentially have it fall apart instead of plating beautifully. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. This is not excessive timewise, you want the crisp to bake to a hard crust. This way, the cherries also form a thickened texture.

Remove from the oven when nicely browned and when lightly touched the texture is hard.

Now if you just wanna gobble one down whilst warm, I cannot blame you but the hard part is to let them cool completely. They form a hard crust and when cooled, take the plate of your choice and gently tear the sides of the cupcake casing and release the crisp. This is what the bottom looks like when cooled.

See how nicely it solidified? This can be plated and to add a nice fillip add a luscious amarena cherry on the side, not to be confused with maraschino cherries. They are deeply flavorful and just one will send you into a flavor tizzy.

It’s both a beautiful dessert and oh so yum. Enjoy every bite!

Individual Cherry Crisps

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup quick oats
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup melted butter/margarine

2 1/2 cups pitted sour cherries canned or jarred
4-5 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Take 14 individual cupcake or muffin cups, preferably aluminium ones, and spray well with oil spray. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt till combined. Set aside. Take a pyrex measuring cup (or other microwave safe container) and melt the butter/marg. Stir the melted marg into the dry mixture and mix till big crumbly chunks form. Set aside.

Take the pitted cherries and drain in a colander/sieve as best you can. It will keep oozing, it’s okay. Place in a bowl with the cornstarch and sugar and toss till mixed. You will find a lot of liquid seeping. Take either a fork or slotted spoon to take the cherries out of the liquid that you will leave in the bowl. Evenly distribute in the muffin tins the tossed cherries, leaving the excess liquid in the bowl.

Take a 1/4 cup measuring cup and scoop crisp topping into it and cover with the topping each tin with the cherries on the bottom. You may have a bit left over just add to the tins that need the extra.

Place the tins on a parchment lined rimmed baking pan (to avoid those nasty potential spills) and bake in hot oven for approximately 35 minutes till nicely browned. Let cool on wire racks (put the whole baking sheet on the racks) till really cold. Peel off the tin (just use your finger to split on one side and it pops right off) and place on a pretty plate. Garnish and serve – it’ll be a hit, trust me!