Here’s another crisp recipe, this time a combination of the Spring strawberry and late Fall persimmon. Persimmons are just starting to come out of season, so I snagged what might be the last batch. Think of this as a meeting of the season, a way to celebrate moving from cold, dreary weather to the bright, cheerfulness of Spring. This recipe would be great with any berry coming into season, such as blueberries or blackberries. Add in some sliced peaches, fresh or frozen.

Crisps and crumbles are great for fruit that looks past its prime but still taste good. The combinations are endless, today it’s strawberries and persimmons, but tomorrow it could be blackberries and peaches or raspberries and nectarines. Update the recipe based on the fruit that’s in season, creating new combinations over the summer. See Jenn’s General Crisp Recipe for tips and ideas.

Strawberry Persimmon Crisp

2 pints fresh strawberries
3 fresh persimmons
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour

Topping:
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F and coat a 13×9 inch baking dish with cooking spray or butter.

Rinse strawberries and remove tops. Cut into halves or quarters if large and place in prepared baking dish. Cut persimmons in half and scoop flesh into a blender or food processor. Pulse until smooth and add persimmon puree to baking dish. Toss puree and strawberries with sugar and flour. Spread strawberry mixture into an even layer.

In a clean food processing cup, combine flour and butter. Pulse several times until butter is in pea-sized clumps. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until combined. Sprinkle topping mixture over strawberries.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Want to make your own crisp? Follow this easy recipe:

Topping:
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

Filling:
3-4 cups fresh or frozen fruit, coarsely chopped or sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup lemon or orange juice

Preheat oven to 350F and coat a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray or butter.

Combine flour and butter in food processor. Pulse until butter is in pea-sized clumps. Add quick oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse 3-4 times to combine.

Toss cut fruit, sugar, flour, and lemon or orange juice in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit. Top with chopped nuts, if using.  

If you would like both a topping and a bottom crust, double the topping ingredients (except nuts and salt). Press half of mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Add nuts into second half of mixture and use as topping.

Mix up the ingredients for different fruit combinations, for example:

Strawberries and rhubarb with walnuts
Frozen cherries, ginger, and sliced almonds
Fresh or frozen sliced peaches, blueberries, and pecans
Pears, nutmeg, and chopped hazelnuts
Plums, honey (in place of juice), and mixed nuts  

Is it Spring yet? I’ve decided that it is. So, to celebrate the beginning of Spring (albeit a week or so early), I made a yummy, fruity, crispy dessert to enjoy the first tastes of the season. Last week, my local paper ran a great article on Cobblers, Crisps and Crumbles, the easy alternative to pies and tarts. Last summer, I made a Rhubarb Crisp that turned out awesome, so this time I modified a recipe from Simply in Season to make this Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp.

While I used fresh fruit, you could certainly use frozen fruits and berries of nearly any variety. What is great about these desserts is the versatility and ability to swap flavors and spices so readily to make a completely personalized dessert. Rhubarb is just now available, and will be until early to mid-summer, and pairs wonderfully with fresh strawberries. Serve this dessert warm and bubbly with vanilla ice cream.

10 stalks rhubarb, roughly chopped
1 pint strawberries, roughly chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened  
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F and coat a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray.

Combine chopped rhubarb and strawberries in a large saucepan. Stir in sugar, orange zest and juice, and vanilla extract. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil and stir frequently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, rolled oats, sugar, butter, salt and cinnamon. Using an electric mixer on low speed, beat until crumbly and moist. Press half of the flour mixture into the bottom pan to create a crust. Pour fruit mixture over crust and spread into an even layer.

Mix walnuts into remaining half of flour mixture. Sprinkle mixture over fruit filling. Bake for 25-35 minutes until topping is golden brown and fruit mixture is bubbly. Allow to cool 10-15 minutes, then serve.

Celebrate the beginning of National Chocolate Month without ditching all of your New Year’s resolutions with these deliciously dark brownies from Everyday Food. Instead of lots of oil and butter, these brownies use applesauce and reduced-fat sour cream (yes, that’s sour cream). Add some dark brown sugar and heart-healthy dark chocolate, and you’ve got moist brownies without all the guilt. “These brownies have a triple helping of chocolate: cocoa powder and melted chocolate in the batter, plus chocolate chunks on top” Everyday Food. If bittersweet chocolate is a bit too much for you to take, swap it for semi-sweet or use a 50/50 combination.

2 tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (not chunky)
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream, room temperature
4 oz bittersweet chocolate (2 oz melted, 2 oz coarsely chopped)
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly coat a square baking pan (8×8 or 9×9) with cooking spray.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In a slightly larger bowl, whisk together dark brown sugar, applesauce, sour cream, melted chocolate, eggs, and oil until combined. Add flour mixture and mix just until moistened (do not over mix).

Spread batter in prepared baking pan. Sprinkle top with chopped chocolate. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 25 to 35 minutes.

Allow brownies to cool completely. Cut into squares. Share the goodness!

Matches made in heaven: chocolate, orange, and hazelnut. This “bark” recipe from Everyday Food magazine combines these ingredients into a tasty treat, perfect for the holidays.  According to Everyday Food, “the slight bitterness of the orange zest and a sprinkling of salt round out the richness of the chocolate and hazelnuts.”

Hazelnuts are available pre-chopped, shelled, or unshelled. For this recipe, I bought unshelled hazelnuts and cracked them the old-fashioned way. After shelling, I roasted the hazelnuts at 250F for 15 minutes, then wrapped the nuts in a kitchen towel. The towel allows the nuts to steam, which loosens the skins. The skins can then be rubbed off and the nuts chopped. The roasting also draws out the hazelnuts nature oils and intensifies the flavor, which is worth it if you are able to take the time.

1 navel orange
8 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup hazelnuts, skins removed and coarsely chopped
1/4 tsp coarse salt

Line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil. With a vegetable peeler, remove zest from half of the orange, avoiding as much of the white pith as possible (reserve the rest of the orange for another use). With a sharp knife, cut zest into very thin strips about 1 inch long.

Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl set oven (not in) a pan of simmering water, or use a double-boiler. Stir until melted and completely smooth. Mix in half the zest and hazelnuts. Immediately pour onto prepared baking sheet with a flexible spatula. Spread mixture about 1/4 inch thick in a rectangle on the prepared baking sheet, avoiding the sides of the baking sheets.

Sprinkle with remaining zest, nuts, and coarse salt. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. To serve, break or chop into pieces. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.